Structures and photophysical properties of a family of [Ru(dcmb)2]2+ based complexes having pyridyl and amino acid ancillary ligands

This paper reports eight new ruthenium complexes (1–8) for the studies on their structures and photophysical properties. Five of them (1–5) are based on the [Ru(dcmb)2]2+ (dcmb = 4,4′-bis(methoxycarbonyl)-2,2′-bipyridine) core, while the other three complexes (6–8) are based on the [Ru(dcbpy)2]2+ (dcbpy = 4,4-dicarboxy-2,2-bipyridine) unit. It is found that the introduction of pyridyl and amino acid ancillary ligands has great influences on the absorption spectra of complexes 1–5. Four single-crystal structures (2–5) are included in this work, which are suggested to be the first structural examples on [Ru(dcmb)2]2+ based complexes having the second aromatic ancillary ligands. In addition, [Ru(dcbpy)2]2+ based dyes 6–8 have been used as the photosensitizers in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), and dye 7 bearing the amino acid ancillary ligand shows the best photoelectronic performance.

Five [Ru(dcmb)2]2+ based complexes, having pyridyl and amino acid ancillary ligands have been described, and three corresponding [Ru(dcbpy)2]2+ based photosensitizers have been prepared for the comparative studies on DSSCs.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide