A zinc phthalocyanine with tyrosine substituents (ZnPcTyr), modified for efficient far-red/near-IR performance in dye-sensitized nanostructured TiO(2) solar cells, and its reference, glycine-substituted zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPcGly), were synthesized and characterized. The compounds were studied spectroscopically, electrochemically, and photoelectrochemically. Incorporating tyrosine groups into phthalocyanine makes the dye ethanol-soluble and reduces surface aggregation as a result of steric effects. The performance of a solar cell based on ZnPcTyr is much better than that based on ZnPcGly. Addition of 3alpha,7alpha-dihydroxy-5beta-cholic acid (cheno) and 4-tert-butylpyridine (TBP) to the dye solution when preparing a dye-sensitized TiO(2) electrode diminishes significantly the surface aggregation and, therefore, improves the performance of solar cells based on these phthalocyanines. The highest monochromatic incident photo-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) of approximately 24% at 690 nm and an overall conversion efficiency (eta) of 0.54% were achieved for a cell based on a ZnPcTyr-sensitized TiO(2) electrode. Addition of TBP in the electrolyte decreases the IPCE and eta considerably, although it increases the open-circuit photovoltage. Time-resolved transient absorption measurements of interfacial electron-transfer kinetics in a ZnPcTyr-sensitized nanostructured TiO(2) thin film show that electron injection from the excited state of the dye into the conduction band of TiO(2) is completed in approximately 500 fs and that more than half of the injected electrons recombines with the oxidized dye molecules in approximately 300 ps. In addition to surface aggregation, the very fast electron recombination is most likely responsible for the low performance of the solar cell based on ZnPcTyr.

A novel method for anchoring phthalocyanines substituted with ester groups onto nanostructured TiO2 films is described. Such phthalocyanines did not adsorb on nanostructured TiO2 film by the ordinary methods. In our new method, the TiO2 film is pretreated with (CH3)3COLi to change the surface hydroxyl groups (−OH) into oxygen anions (−O-), thus making the surface more reactive toward the ester functionalities of the dye. The dye can then be anchored onto the semiconductor surface through the produced carboxylate group(s). The amount of anchored dye on the semiconductor shows a dependence on both the time of base treatment and the time of dye treatment. Electrodes treated with the free base phthalocyanine and zinc phthalocyanine were characterized by absorption spectroscopy, photocurrent action spectroscopy, and photocurrent−photovoltage measurements. The homogeneous blue-green color and the absorption bands in the far-red region are indicative of an attachment of the dye on TiO2 film. A monochromatic incident photo-to-current conversion efficiency of 4.3% was achieved at 690 nm for a cell where the base-treated electrode was treated with ZnPcBu.

The synthesis and characterization of phthalocyaninato-ruthenium ( PcRu ) complexes with potential functional axial ligands are described. The solubility of these PcRu complexes was much improved compared to their parent phthalocyanines without Ru , enabling purification by normal flash column chromatography and also NMR measurements in common solvents (e. g. DMSO - d 6 and CDCl 3). Adsorption of these phthalocyanine dyes onto the surface of a semiconductor through the carboxyl group(s) in the axial ligands prevents to some extent formation of H-aggregates, which is typical for phthalocyanines. It also prevents stacking of the dye molecules on the surface. The photovoltaic behavior of sandwich solar cells based on nanostructured TiO 2 films sensitized by these PcRu complexes was studied under irradiation with visible light. For a solar cell based on bis(4-carboxypyridine)-phthalocyaninato ruthenium(II) (1) sensitized nanoporous-nanocrystalline TiO 2, a monochromatic incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) of 21% was obtained at 640 nm. The overall conversion efficiency (η) was 0.61%, which is one of the best results for a solar cell based on a phthalocyanine dye. For a cell based on (4-carboxypyridine)-(4-(2-ethoxy)ethyloxycarbo-nylpyridine)-2,3,9,10,16,17,23,24-octa(n-pentyloxy)-phthalocyaninato ruthenium(II) (5) sensitized TiO 2, a IPCE of 6.6% at 640 nm and η of 0.58% were obtained.