Switching‐on: The Copper Age

Investigation of a copper(i) biquinoline complex for application in dye-sensitized solar cells

“…The copper (I) biquinoline complex described here is not the result of a long synthetic pathway and the suitability of copper (I) complexes generally in DSSCs is noted in the literature. 4,11,24 To that end, we have synthesised and assessed the properties of a 5 copper(I) dye with the commercially available 2,2'-biquinoline-4,4'-dicarboxylic acid (dcbiq) ligand (or bicinchoninic acid, BCA). [Cu(dcbiq)2] + is a known compound and is most commonly used in the BCA assay, which measures protein concentration in a solution.…”

“…As established previously in the literature 4,5,24,31 the design of copper(I) complexes needs to be carefully planned to prevent geometry changes upon oxidation from copper(I) to (II). Copper(II) complexes tend to atten to square planar where coordination of a solvent molecule can occur, involving a large structural rearrangement and ultimately reducing the efficiency of electron transfer processes.…”