A new route to enhance the light-harvesting capability of ruthenium complexes for dye-sensitized solar cells

The synthesis and performance of a new well-designed ruthenium complex was reported, which showed high light-harvesting capacity and good stability in organic solvents. The size of the ruthenium complexes used in the study was not found to affect the number of dye molecules assembled on the anatase electrodes. The significant increase in the power conversion efficiency values for ruthenium complex compared to ruthenium complex sensitized solar cells revealed the important role of the complex moiety in the ancillary ligand of the ruthenium complex. The long substituents on the bipyridine of the ancillary ligand require a larger anatase surface to avoid steric hindrance. The results also show that the strongly electron-donating ether group can avoid the intra-molecular electron-hole recombination of the ruthenium complex and increase the lifetime of the electrons on the anatase.