A Cheap Synthetic Route to Commercial Ruthenium N3 Dye for Sensitizing Solar Cell Applications

摘要

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) have received widespread attention owing to their low cost, easy fabrication, and relatively high solar-to-electricity conversion efficiency. Based on the TiO_2 electrode, ruthenium complex dye, liquid electrolyte, and Pt counter electrode, DSCs have already exhibited an efficiency above 11% and offer an appealing alternative to conventional solar cells. However, until now the commercial and well known standard dye is the ruthenium complex, namely, cis-bis(isothiocyanato)-bis(2,2'-bipyridyl-4,4'dicarboxylato)ruthenium(II) (N3) which has been widely used around the word. In this article, N3 standard dye was synthesized and characterized by two synthetic routes: Gr?tzel's protocol and a one-pot reaction from cheap and easily prepared starting materials.