A series of organic dyes containing a phenothiazine central unit were synthesized and were used effectively in the fabrication of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). A cyanoacrylate moiety was added at the C(3) position of the phenothiazine as an electron acceptor, and a triarylamine moiety was attached at the C(7) position as an electron donor. The DSSCs made with these dyes displayed remarkable quantum efficiency, ranging from 4.2-6.2% under an AM 1.5 solar condition (100 mW cm À2 ). A variety of substituents, i.e., methyl, hexyl and triphenylamino groups, were added at the N(10) of phenothiazine in order to optimize the incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency. Along the main chromophore a thiophenylene group was inserted at different positions to examine its influence on the properties of devices. The best performance was found in compound NSPt-C6, in which a hexyl group was attached at the N(10) of phenothiazine and a thiophenylene at the C(7) position. It displayed a short-circuit current (J sc ) of 14.42 mA cm À2 , an open-circuit voltage (V oc ) of 0.69 V, and a fill factor (ff) of 0.63, corresponding to an overall conversion efficiency of 6.22%. Their photophysical properties were analyzed with the aid of a time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) model with the B3LYP functional. Their photovoltaic behavior was further elucidated by the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.

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A novel single-step sol-gel approach for the preparation of beta-CD-bonded silica monolithic electrochromatographic columns is established. The porous silica networks were fabricated inside fused-silica capillaries using sol-gel processing of tetramethoxysilane and an organfunctional silicon alkoxide that contains beta-CD. Scanning electron micrographs and nitrogen adsorption-desorption data showed that these functional monolithic columns have double pores structures with micrometer-size co-continuous through-pores and silica skeletons with open mesopores. The beta-CD monolithic columns have successfully been applied to the separation of several neutral and negatively charged isomers by CEC. The column performance was evaluated by using positional isomers of naphthalenedisulfonic acid as model compounds. A plate height of less than 10 mum for the first eluted isomer of naphthalenedisulfonic acid was obtained at an optimal flow rate (0.47 mm/s) of the mobile phase. Moreover, the columns have been proved to be stable for more than 100 runs during 3 months period and show reasonable column reproducibility.

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