Symmetrically substituted phenothiazine as prospective candidate for UV responsive dye sensitized solar cells

• New symmetrically substituted phenothiazine with carboxylic anchor group to anatase
• Good sensitizing properties on anatase nanoparticles in the UV region
• Concept presentation of a UV-responsive hybrid solar cell

A hybrid layer system consisting of anatase, an N-substituted dithienylated phenothiazine (DTPT) with a carboxylic anchor group as molecular donor–π–acceptor-system and poly(3-hexylthiophene) as hole transporting material is studied by means of X-ray and UV-photoelectron spectroscopy and UV/vis spectroscopy. The optoelectronic properties of the DTPT and the energy level alignment at the interface DTPT/TiO2 enable the design of an UV-responsive hybrid solar cell, which is conceptually presented.