Anthracene/phenothiazine π-conjugated sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells using redox mediator in organic and water-based solvents.

Metal-free dyes (MD1 to MD5) containing an anthracene/phenothiazine unit in the spacer have been synthesized. The conversion efficiency (7.13 %) of the dye-sensitized solar cell using MD3 as the sensitizer reached approximately 85 % of the N719-based standard cell (8.47 %). The cell efficiency (8.42 %) of MD3-based dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) with addition of chenodeoxycholic acid is comparable with that of N719-based standard cell. The MD3 water-based DSSCs using a dual-TEMPO (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxyl)/iodide electrolyte exhibited very promising cell performance of 4.96 % with an excellent Voc of 0.77 V.