title: Starburst triarylamine based dyes bearing a 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene linker for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells.
abstract: Starburst triarylamine-based organic dyes (D1, D2, and D3) have been synthesized. For the three designed dyes, the starburst triarylamine group, thiophene (or 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), and cyanoacetic acid take the role of electron donor, π-conjugation bridge, and electron acceptor, respectively. These compounds are characterized by photophysical, electrochemical, and theoretical computational methods. Nanocrystalline TiO2-based dye-sensitized solar cells were fabricated using these molecules as light-harvesting sensitizers. The overall efficiencies of the sensitized cells range from 5.48 to 6.15%. It was found that the introduction of the EDOT group in D3 bathochromically extended the absorption spectra, resulting in a leap in the photovoltaic performance in comparison to D2. Incorporation of a hydrophobic carbazole-containing segment at D2 relative with D1 retarded the electron transfer from TiO2 to the oxidized dye or electrolyte, leading to an increase of electron lifetime.
authors.affiliation: MOE Laboratory of Bioinorganic and Synthetic Chemistry/KLGHEI of Environment and Energy Chemistry, Lehn Institute of Functional Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, SunYat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China.
authors.forename: Li-Lin
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Hong-Yan
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Li-Feng
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Li-Min
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Jun-Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Dai-Bin
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Kuang
authors.forename: Cheng-Yong
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Su