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A series of zinc-phthalocyanine sensitizers ( PcS16- 18) with different adsorption sites have been designed and synthesized in order to investigate the dependence of adsorption-site structures on the solar-cell performances in zinc-phthalocyanine based dye-sensitized solar cells. The change of adsorption site affected the electron injection efficiency from the photoexcited dye into the nanocrystalline TiO2 semiconductor, as monitored by picosecond time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. The zinc-phthalocyanine sensitizer PcS18, possessing one carboxylic acid directly attached to the ZnPc ring and six 2,6-diisopropylphenoxy units, showed a record power conversion efficiency value of 5.9 % when used as a light-harvesting dye on a TiO2 electrode under one simulated solar condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of panchromatic ruthenium sensitizers ( MJ sensitizers) with attached thiophene and phenyl units bearing alkyl chains was synthesized. A new synthetic route was used to examine all possible positions for the alkyl chains. The absorption spectra showed the sum of a ruthenium complex and peripheral organic chromophore units. The hypochromic effect and blueshift of the metal-to-ligand charge-transfer band observed in the modified ruthenium sensitizers were suppressed by changing the positions of the alkyl chains on the attached thiophene ring. Changing only one alkyl chain also influenced the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells. Ruthenium sensitizer MJ-10 with bulky substituent harvests visible and near-infrared light, and solar cells sensitized by MJ-10 exhibit an efficiency of 9.1 % under 1 sun irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]