Application of near-infrared absorbing heptamethine cyanine dyes as sensitizers for zinc oxide solar cell

Novel near-infrared absorbing heptamethine cyanine dyes derived from indole, benzoxazole, benzothiazole, and quinoline were synthesized and examined as sensitizers for a zinc oxide solar cell. A 2-carboxyphenylthio-substituted indolium heptamethine cyanine dye showed incident photon-to-current efficiency (IPCE) of 4.17% at 804 nm.