Three new triphenylamine based dyes with Donor-Donor-Spacer-Acceptor (D-D-π-A) arrangement were designed and synthesized by convenient synthetic pathway. Unsymmetrical extended donor part may help to reduce the aggregation of dyes on the semiconductor surface. Wide range of absorption in the visible spectrum, electrochemical studies and theoretical optimization suggest that these dyes can be good members for DSSC. Further to check the performance of these dyes in device the solar cells were developed using iodine free Co-based electrolyte. Electronic characterisation concludes that devices based on D6 have the highest power conversion efficiency (4.7%) mostly due to an improved electron lifetime, which therefore improves both the VOC and JSC of the devices.
Keywords: Co-based electrolyte; Cyanoacrylic acid; Dye-sensitized solar cells; Extended donor; Power conversion efficiency; Triphenylamine.
Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.