Influence of different arylamine electron donors in organic sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells

Three organic sensitizers containing identical π-spacers and electron acceptors but different arylamine electron donors, carbazole, phenothiazine and diphenylamine, were applied in dye-sensitized solar cells to study the influence of the different electron donors on the photophysical, electrochemical and photovoltaic properties by spectral, electrochemical, photovoltaic experiments, and density functional theory calculations. The overall dye-sensitized solar cell conversion efficiencies ranged from 1.77% to 2.03%. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy results are in good agreement with results of the short-circuit currents and the overall conversion efficiencies of the dye-sensitized solar cells based on the three dyes.

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► Three organic dyes with different donors were applied in dye-sensitized solar cells.
► Effects of different electron donors on the photovoltaic performances were studied.
► The dye derived from diphenylamine has the longest maximum absorption with the highest molar absorption coefficient.
► The dye containing the diphenylamine donor gives the better photovoltaic performance.
► The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy results are in good agreement with the photovoltaic performances of the dyes.