Novel indoline dyes, I-1–I-4, with structural modification of π-linker group in the D-π-A system have been synthesized and fully characterized. Molecular engineering through expanding the π-linker segment has been performed. The ground and excited state properties of the dyes have been studied by means of density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT). Larger π-conjugation linkers would lead to broader spectral response and higher molar extinction coefficient but would decrease dye-loaded amount on TiO2 electrode and LUMO level. While applied in DSSCs, the variation trends in short-circuit current density (Jsc) and open-circuit voltage (Voc) were observed to be opposite to each other. The internal reasons were studied by experimental data and theoretical calculations in detail. Notably, I-2 showed comparable photocurrent values with liquid and quasi-solid state electrolyte, which suggested through molecular engineering of organic sensitizers the dilemma between optical absorption and charge diffusion lengths can be balanced well. Through studies of photophysical, electrochemical, and theoretical calculation results, the internal relations between chemical structure and efficiency have been revealed, which serve to enhance our knowledge regarding design and optimization of new sensitizers for quasi-solid state DSSCs, providing a powerful strategy for prediction of photovoltaic performances.
新型
吲哚啉染料 I-1-I-4(在 D-π-A 系统中对π-连接基团进行了结构调整)已被合成并充分表征。研究人员通过扩大π-连接基段进行了分子工程。通过密度泛函理论(DFT)和时间相关 DFT(TD-DFT)研究了
染料的基态和激发态特性。较大的π-共轭连接体会导致更宽的光谱响应和更高的摩尔消光系数,但会降低
二氧化钛电极上的
染料负载量和LUMO
水平。在应用于 DSSC 时,短路电流密度(Jsc)和开路电压(Voc)的变化趋势是相反的。实验数据和理论计算详细研究了其内在原因。值得注意的是,I-2 在液态和准固态电解质中显示出相当的光电流值,这表明通过有机敏化剂的分子工程,可以很好地平衡光吸收和电荷扩散长度之间的矛盾。通过对光物理、电
化学和理论计算结果的研究,揭示了
化学结构与效率之间的内在联系,有助于提高我们对准固态 DSSC 新敏化剂的设计和优化的认识,为预测光伏性能提供了有力的策略。