Photosensitizers containing the 1,8-naphthyridyl moiety and their use in dye-sensitized solar cells.

Using a Friedländer condensation approach, we prepared a series of 2-(pyrid-2'-yl)-1,8-naphthyridines containing a carboethoxy group appended at the 4- and 4'-positions. Complexation of these ligands with Ru(II) and NaNCS led to the complexes [Ru(L)2(NCS)2], and subsequent hydrolysis of the ester groups afforded the carboxylic acid dyes 13b-15b. The more delocalized and electronegative nature of the 1,8-naphthyridyl moiety lowers the energy of the ligand pi*-level and extends the absorption envelope of these complexes well into the red. The system lacking a 4-carboxypyridine moiety shows poor absorbance in the blue region of the spectrum. Solar cells involving thin films of anatase TiO2 impregnated with these dyes were prepared, and their photovoltaic performance was evaluated. The incident photon-to-current efficiencies in the region beyond 625 nm were considerably greater than those of the prototype N3 dye.