Synthesis and applications of 3,6-carbazole-based conjugated side-chain copolymers containing complexes of 1,10-phenanthroline with Zn(II), Cd(II) and Ni(II) for dye-sensitized solar cells

Three novel donor-acceptor polymeric metal complexes based on polycarbazole containing complexes of 1,10-phenanthroline with Zn(II), Cd(II) and Ni(II) have been synthesized by the Ullmann reaction and characterized by gel permeation chromatography, FT-IR, UV–visible absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and elemental analysis. The application of these organometallic polymers in fabricated dye-sensitized solar cells has been studied. The solar cells exhibited good device performance with a power conversion efficiency of up to 0.44%, under simulated air mass 1.5 G solar irradiation.

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► The synthesis of three novel D–A polymeric metal complexes is described.
► The polymeric metal complexes have excellent thermal stability.
► The application of the organometallic polymers in dye-sensitized solar cells was investigated.
► The Cd complex polymer exhibited better device performance than either the Zn or Ni complexes.