A new sterically hindered asymmetric zinc phthalocyanine as an efficient sensitizer for dye-sensitized solar cells

A novel push–pull zinc phthalocyanine dye (KH1) containing 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenoxy donor groups was synthesized for DSSCs. The DSSC based on the dye exhibited a PCE of 3.12%.

Insight into the effects of the anchoring groups on the photovoltaic performance of unsymmetrical phthalocyanine based dye-sensitized solar cells

Push-pull zinc phthalocyanine dyes bearing hexylsulfanyl moieties as electron donors and carboxyethynyl as mono- or di-anchoring groups have been designed, synthesized and tested as sensitizers in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The effects of the anchoring groups on the optical, electrochemical and photovoltaic properties were investigated. The incorporation of a carboxyethynyl group in GT23 has a considerable effect on preventing dye aggregation due to its relatively non-planar structure. The mono-anchoring dye bearing a phenyl carboxyethynyl group, GT5, has a higher molar extinction coefficient and sufficient charge injection into the TiO2 conduction band. Therefore, GT5 achieved at least 90% higher power conversion efficiency than the di-anchoring dyes (GT31 and GT32). Time-dependent density functional theory (PBE0/6-31G(d,p)) was also used to calculate the electronic absorption spectra, which predicted very well the measured UV-Vis with an error of up to 0.11 eV for the Q bands and 0.3 eV for the B bands. The longest charge transfer bands are obtained in the visible light region and they correspond to a transfer phthalocyanine core → substituent with a carboxyethynyl group where the absorptions of GT32 (465 nm) and GT31 (461 nm) are red-shifted compared to GT23 (429 nm) and GT5 (441 nm). The interaction energy between the phthalocyanine and a cluster of anatase-TiO2 (H4Ti40O82) was calculated using density functional theory. For all phthalocyanines, the interaction favored is monodentate and corresponds to -O(OH)Ti(TiO2), where the stronger interaction occurs for GT32 (-2.11 eV) and GT31 (-2.25 eV). This study presents the molecular combination of the anchoring groups in zinc phthalocyanine sensitizers, which is one of the effective strategies for improving the performance of DSSCs.

Synthesis, in vitro inhibition effect of novel phthalocyanine complexes as carbonic anhydrase and paraoxonase enzyme inhibitors

The preparation and assessment of carbonic anhydrase and paraoxonase enzyme inhibition properties of 3-(2-(5-amino-4-(4-bromophenyl)-3-methyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)ethoxy)phthalonitrile (2) and its nitrogen-containing non-peripheral phthalocyanine derivatives (3 and 4) are reported for the first time. The new phthalonitrile and its phthalocyanine derivatives have been elucidated by FT-IR spectroscopy, 1H-NMR, [Formula: see text]C-NMR, mass and UV-vis spectroscopy. The results demonstrated that all synthesized compounds moderately inhibited carbonic anhydrase and paraoxonase enzymes. Among the compounds, the most active ones were found to be compound 4 for PON (Ki : 0.14 [Formula: see text]M), compound 3 for hCA I (Ki : 22.52 [Formula: see text]M) and compound 1 for hCA II (Ki : 13.62 [Formula: see text]M).

Role of hexyloxy groups in zinc phthalocyanines bearing sulfonic acid anchoring groups for dye-sensitized solar cells

Zinc phthalocyanine dyes bearing four sulfonic acid anchoring groups with (A-ZnPc) and without (H-ZnPc) four chloro and eight hexyloxy groups were used as sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The dyes were investigated in terms of their optical, electrochemical and photovoltaic properties. The presence of these groups in dye A-ZnPc resulted in both red-shifted absorption and decreased dye aggregation, which are beneficial for the improvement of device performance. In the presence of chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) as a coadsorbent, the DSSC based on H-ZnPc shows a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 0.96%, which is improved by [Formula: see text]40% as compared to the device without CDCA. However, the PCE of an A-ZnPc-based device with CDCA slightly enhances from 1.15% (without CDCA) to 1.22%, indicating that the bulky hexyloxy groups with large steric hindrance can effectively suppress aggregation of the adsorbed dye. The results showed that the zinc phthalocyanine dye bearing bulky hexyloxy groups is a promising candidate to construct efficient coadsorbent-free DSSCs.

Effect of new asymmetrical Zn(ii) phthalocyanines on the photovoltaic performance of a dye-sensitized solar cell

Theoretical and experimental examinations of novel asymmetric Zn(ii) phthalocyanine derivatives substituted with peripherally one carboxyl and six alkylsulfanyl groups have been successfully investigated from the point of view of DSSC performance.

One-step anion-assisted electrodeposition of ZnO nanofibrous networks as photoanodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

An efficient ZnO photoanode consisting of nanofibrous networks for DSSCs was synthesized using a one-step electrodeposition in a solution containing Zn(NO₃)₂, KCl, NaCH₃COO, and Na₃C₆H₅O₇.