An organic dye using N-dodecyl-3-(3,6-di-tert-butylcarbazol-N-yl)carbazol-6-yl as a donor moiety for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells

New organic dyes, namely CCTA and CFTA using N-dodecyl-3-(3,6-di-tert-butylcarbazol-N-yl)carbazol-6-yl and 2-(3,6-di-tert-butylcarbazol-N-yl)-9,9-bishexylfluoren-7-yl as donor moieties, respectively, were synthesized, characterized, and employed as a dye sensitizer in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The CCTA-sensitized solar cell produces higher device performance with an overall conversion efficiency of 5.69% [a short circuit current (Jsc) = 11.31 mA cm−2, an open-circuit voltage (Voc) = 0.71 V, and a field factor (FF) = 0.71] reaching >96% of the reference N719-based device (overall conversion efficiency = 5.92%).