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Reduction of styrene compounds was achieved by the simple method of adding more than 2.5 equivalents of an aqueous HI solution in chlorobenzene under refluxing conditions for 8 h to give the product in medium to excellent yields. There was no need to add further additional reagent and catalyst. HI was a specific reagent for this reduction reaction. Increment of the amount of HI was efficient to increase the yield rather than to elongate the reaction time. This reaction could be applied to compounds bearing halogen and sulfur atoms, which would act as reductive site and poisoning of the transition-metal catalyst, respectively. The yield was decreased in the case of the compounds bearing small substituent such as propyl and butyl groups on olefin. This reaction proceeded via the iodinated intermediate followed by the reduction of C-I bond. The reduction mechanism would contain the radical cleavage of the C-I bond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate herein the divergent synthesis of six dyes containing our originally developed rigid and nonplanar donor with three different secondary electron donors (SEDs), namely thiophene, 4-methoxybenzene, and diphenylethene. Evaluation of the photophysical properties of the synthesized dyes revealed that the introduction of the SEDs resulted in an increased absorbance in the 350-450 nm region. The influence of the SEDs on the electrochemical and photovoltaic properties depended on their structure and position of attachment. The introduction of the thiophene SED to D4π4A2, which we previously reported to be our best dye, resulted in an increased Jsc. The dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) prepared by using dye 2b, which contains the thiophene SED, shows a higher power conversion efficiency (PCE; η = 4.62 ± 0.02 %) and a higher incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) in the region 300-600 nm than D4π4A2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twenty-four D-A'-π-A dyes were rapidly synthesized through a one-pot three-component Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction, which was assisted by microwave irradiation. We measured the absorption spectra, electrochemical properties, and solar-cell performance of all the synthesized dyes. The D5 πA4 dye contained our originally designed rigid and nonplanar donor and exerted the highest efficiency at 5.4 %. The short-circuit current (Jsc ) was the most important parameter for the conversion efficiency (η) in the case of the organic D-A'-π-A dyes. Optimal ranges for the D-A'-π-A dyes were observed for high values of Jsc /λmax at λ=560-620 nm, an optical-absorption edge of λ=690-790 nm, and EHOMO and ELUMO values of <1.14 and -0.56 to -0.76 V, respectively., (© 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

This one-pot, four-component coupling approach (Suzuki-Miyaura coupling/C-H direct arylation/Knoevenagel condensation) was developed for the rapid synthesis of thiophene-based organic dyes for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Seven thiophene-based, organic dyes of various donor structures with/without the use of a 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) moiety were successfully synthesized in good yields based on a readily available thiophene boronic acid pinacol ester scaffold (one-pot, 3-step, 35-61%). Evaluation of the photovoltaic properties of the solar cells that were prepared using the synthesized dyes revealed that the introduction of an EDOT structure beside a cyanoacrylic acid moiety improved the short-circuit current (Jsc) while decreasing the fill factor (FF). The donor structure significantly influenced the open-circuit voltage (Voc), the FF, and the power conversion efficiency (PCE). The use of a n-hexyloxyphenyl amine donor, and our originally developed, rigid, and nonplanar donor, both promoted good cell performance (η=5.2-5.6%)., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)