Synthesis of β,β′-edge fused, π-extended porphyrins and their applications in the dye-sensitized solar cells

Four π-extended, β,β′ aromatic ring fused porphyrins including mono- and opp-dibenzoporphyrins bearing two carboxyl groups at only one fused benzo group were synthesized. The optical results by UV–vis spectroscopy indicate that when compared with the absorption spectra of monobenzoporphyrins, greater light-harvesting capabilities can be realized for opp-dibenzoporphyrins with two benzo group at the opposite β,β′ positions of the porphyrin. The photovoltaic properties of these π-extended porphyrins were examined for the first time and the highest conversion efficiency of 1.62% was realized for opp-dibenzoporphyrin 8a-sensitized solar cell, which is ∼60% higher than that of monobenzoporphyrin 4a based solar cell indicating the effect of an extra aromatic π conjugation on the light-harvesting capabilities of π-extended porphyrins. Subsequent DFT calculation results supported our results obtained in the optical and photovoltaic studies.     

One-pot synthesis of β-imidazolylpropionamides

New efficient one-pot methodology for the preparative synthesis of β-imidazolylpropionamides was elaborated. It is based on the addition of imidazole to the activated double bond of the intermediate acrylimidazolide in the reaction between diverse acrylic acids and different amines promoted by CDI. A set of structurally and functionally diverse β-imidazolylpropionamides was obtained in high preparative yields.     

An alternative synthesis of β-pyrrolic acetylene-substituted porphyrins

A modified Horner-Emmons condensation reaction has been employed in the synthesis of acetylene-substituted porphyrins at the β-pyrrolic position. This technique was shown to have many advantages over the typically employed Sonogashira coupling method, including negating the requirement for a brominated porphyrin starting material. The electronic spectra of 2-(4′-carboxyphenyl)ethynyl-5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrinato zinc(II) showed a red shift compared to the double bond equivalent, 4-(trans-2′-(2″-(5″,10″,15″,20″-tetraphenylporphyrinato zinc(II)yl))ethen-1′-yl)-1-benzoic acid. Comparison of the X-ray structures of 2-((4′-formyl)phenyl)ethynyl-5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrinato zinc(II) and its analogue 4-(trans-2′-(2″-(5″,10″,15″,20″-tetraphenylporphyrinato copper(II)yl))ethen-1′-yl)-1-benzaldehyde showed an unexpected decrease in planarity in the analogue with the triple bond as opposed to that with the double bond.     

One-pot efficient synthesis of aryl α-keto esters from aryl-ketones

A novel one-pot synthesis of aryl α-keto esters was developed through oxidation of aryl-ketones using selenium dioxide, esterification accompanied by ketalization, and hydrolysis. Both aromatics and heteroaromatics gave good yields by this one-pot method.     

Artificial intelligence designed drug synthesis: One-pot preparation of trans β-lactams and application to cholesterol absorption inhibitor SCH 47949 synthesis

An artificial intelligence designed SCH 47949 synthesis is achieved in a stereoselective manner. The key step contains a stereoselective one-pot construction of the trans β-lactam framework via thermal electrocyclization. N-arylation of the β-lactam ring system and a series of functional group transformations synthesized SCH 47949 in a reasonable chemical yield.     

One-pot synthesis of β-2,6-dideoxyglycosides via glycosyl iodide intermediates

An efficient and convenient approach for stereoselective synthesis of β-linked 2,6-dideoxyglycosides has been developed through one-pot glycosylation strategy using glycosyl iodide intermediates. The glycosidation reaction, promoted by easily available silver nitrate, provided the corresponding 2,6-dideoxyglycosides and oligosaccharides with preponderant β-configuration (β/α = 2.3:1 to 11:1) and good to excellent yields (52–84%).     

One-pot synthesis of α-trifluoromethylstyrenes from aryl ketones and the Ruppert–Prakash reagent

A new synthesis of α-trifluoromethylstyrenes from aromatic ketones and (trifluoromethyl) trimethylsilane is described. The reaction involves nucleophilic trifluoromethylation and elimination of trimethylsilanol, which are performed within one reaction flask.     

Convenient synthesis of functionalized 4,4′-disubstituted-2,2′-bipyridine with extended π-system for dye-sensitized solar cell applications

Exploration of new ruthenium-based sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) applications requires an easy access to multifunctionalized ligands for efficient screening of sensitizers’ properties. Based on the Horner-Emmons-Wadsworth reaction, a convenient synthetic route for the extension of the π-system on 4,4′-disubstituted-2,2′-bipyridines was used to develop a novel series of functionalized 2,2′-bipyridine ligands with either electron-withdrawing or donating end-capping group. ¹H NMR spectroscopy revealed that all the new bipyridyl ligands were obtained exclusively in their fully E isomers.     

Structure-property relationships of organic dyes with D-π-A structure in dye-sensitized solar cells

Organic dyes with a D-π-A structure have drawn increasing attention as sensitizers in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), due to their rich photophysical properties, easy molecular tailoring, and low-cost production. This review mainly focuses on the relationship between dye structure and photovoltaic properties for organic dyes containing cyanoacrylic acid as both an anchor and an acceptor. This review also introduces different donors and π-conjugation units as building blocks for sensitizer synthesis.     

The effect of γ-ray-irradiated conducting polymer electrolyte and its application of dye-sensitized solar cells to building window glass system

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - In the present study, γ-ray-irradiated and un-irradiated PVA/PPy/KI/I2 conducting polymer electrolytes have been prepared for dye-sensitized solar...     

Singlet fission for dye-sensitized solar cells: can a suitable sensitizer be found?

We discuss possible improvements in the efficiency of dye-sensitized photovoltaic cells using dyes capable of singlet fission into two triplets, thus producing two electron-hole pairs from a single photon. It is pointed out that, in addition to derivatives of large alternant hydrocarbons, those of biradicals are also likely candidates for a favorable ordering of excited-state energy levels, E(T2), E(S1) > 2E(T1). A large number of potentially favorable structures has been examined by the semiempirical Pariser-Parr-Pople method and some also by the time-dependent density functional theory method. Several likely candidates have been identified for experimental examination.     

Organic dyes based on triphenylamine for dye-sensitized solar cells:Structure–property relationships

Three new organic dyes based on triphenylamine with a structure of A-D-A-D-A(D1),A-D-A(D2) and D-A(D3) were designed,theoretically calculated and synthesized for dye-sensitized solar cells.Dye D1 exhibits a broader absorption than D2 and D3,due to the intramolecular charge transfer between the donor triphenylamine and the acceptor benzothiadiazole.Dye D1 exhibits a lower HOMO and a lower LUMO than D2 and D3 due to the electron-withdrawing benzothiadiazole.The number of anchoring group cyanoacrylic acid has no obvious influence on absorption and energy levels of D2 and D3.The LUMO of D1 locates on benzothiadiazole rather than cyanoacrylic acid anchoring groups,while the LUMOs of D2 and D3 are localized on cyanoacrylic acid.D2 and D3 give higher short-circuit current density than D1.D3 with one anchoring group gives the highest open-circuit voltage.Consequently,the D3-based device gives the highest efficiency.     

Computational design of new organic (D–π–A) dyes based on benzothiadiazole for photovoltaic applications,especially dye-sensitized solar cells

Research on Chemical Intermediates - A theoretical study on four organic dyes based on bis(4-hexyloxy)triphenylamine as donor and electron acceptor cyanoacrylic acid with a...     

A new class of cyclometalated ruthenium sensitizers of the type ĈNN for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells

A new class of cyclometalated ruthenium sensitizers incorporating a ?NN ligand and conjugated 2,2'-bipyridine in the ancillary ligand have been designed and synthesized. The photovoltaic performance of JK-206 using an electrolyte containing 0.6 M 1,2-dimethyl-3-propylimidazolium iodide, 0.05 M I(2), 0.1 M LiI, and 0.5 M tert-butylpyridine in CH(3)CN gave a short-circuit photocurrent density of 19.63 mA cm(-2), an open-circuit voltage of 0.74 V, and a fill factor of 0.72, affording an overall conversion efficiency of 10.39%. The efficiency is the highest one reported for dye-sensitized solar cells based on the cyclometalated ruthenium sensitizer of the type ?NN. Moreover, the same device using a polymer gel electrolyte exhibited a remarkable stability under 1000 h of light soaking at 60 °C, retaining 91% of the initial efficiency of 7.14%.     

BODIPY dyes with β-conjugation and their applications for high-efficiency inverted small molecule solar cells

Small molecule BODIPY dyes incorporating conjugated substituents at the β sites have been synthesized. Solution processed inverted bulk heterojunction cells were fabricated from the blends of the dyes and PC(71)BM. The cells exhibited very high open-circuit voltages (>0.9 V) and a high conversion efficiency of 3.22% has been achieved.     

Synthesis and photophysical properties of donor–acceptor system based bipyridylporphyrins for dye-sensitized solar cells

Bipyridylporphyrin derivatives possessing a porphyrin moiety as the electron donor and bipyridyl moiety as the electron–acceptor were designed and synthesized for dye-sensitized solar cells(DSSCs). The photophysical and electrochemical properties were investigated by absorption spectrometry and cyclic voltammetry. Density functional theory(DFT) was employed to study electron distribution. From the photovoltaic performance measurements, a maximum conversion efficiency(η) of 0.38% was achieved based on the bipyridylporphyrin ruthenium dye A7(J_(SC)= 1.33 mA/cm~2, V_(OC)= 0.45 V, FF = 0.64) under 1.5 irradiation(100 mW/cm~2).     

2Rotaxane based on terpyridyl bimetal ruthenium complexes and β-cyclodextrin as organic sensitizer for dye-sensitized solar cells

The conjugated carboxy-functionalized terpyridyl bimetal ruthenium complex [(tdctpy)Ru(dctpy-(ph)₄-dctpy)Ru(tdctpy)][PF₆]₄ and [2]rotaxane by self-assembly of [(tdctpy)Ru(dctpy-(ph)₄-dctpy)Ru(tdctpy)][PF₆]₄ with β-cyclodextrin are reported as sensitizer for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), where tdctpy?=?4′-p-tolyl-4,4″-dicarboxy-2,2′?:?6,2″-terpyridine, dctpy?=?4,4″-dicarboxy-2,2′?:?6,2″-terpyridine and dctpy-(ph)₄-dctpy represents a bridging ligand where two 4,4″-dicarboxy-2,2′?:?6′,2″-terpyridine units are connected through four phenyl spacers in the 4′-position. The DSSCs fabricated utilizing these materials give typical electric power conversion efficiency of 0.013–0.523% under air mass (AM) 1.5, 100?mW?cm^?2 irradiation at room temperature. The terpyridyl bimetal ruthenium complex [(tdctpy)Ru(dctpy-(ph)₄-dctpy)Ru(tdctpy)][PF₆]₄ with conjugated-bridge chains displayed much higher conversion efficiency compared with the carboxy-functionalized terpyridyl monometal ruthenium complex [tdctpy-Ru-(idctpy)][PF₆]₂, where idctpy?=?4′-p-iodophenyl-4,4″-dicarboxy-2,2′?:?6,2″-terpyridine. [2]Rotaxane displayed the highest electric power conversion efficiency of 0.523% when β-cyclodextrin was introduced into the conjugated terpyridyl bimetal ruthenium complex and formed [2]rotaxane.     

One pot direct synthesis of β-ketoesters via carbonylation of aryl halides using cobalt carbonyl

A direct method for the synthesis of β-ketoesters from aryl halides (iodide, bromide) has been described by using cobalt carbonyl as carbon monoxide source in microwave irradiation. Using this protocol, a wide variety of substituted aryl halides has been successfully converted to corresponding β-ketoesters.