Double Anthracene-Based Sensitizers for High-Efficiency Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells under Both Sunlight and Indoor Light

Abstract

The development of photosensitizers with extended π-conjugation and spectral matching to sunlight and fluorescent light is crucial for achieving high power conversion efficiency (PCE) in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). This study presents a series of novel anthracene-based photosensitizers, AMO1–AMO4. This series has been designed with bulky modified Hagfeldt donors to suppress undesired molecular aggregation, double anthracene groups for enhanced π-conjugation, acetylene groups for improved molecular planarity, and four distinct acceptors to fine-tune their photophysical and electrochemical properties. The performance of the novel dyes in DSSCs is investigated using two copper redox shuttles, Cu^I/II(dmp)₂ and Cu^I/II(dmodmbp)₂. Among the investigated dyes, AMO2 mediated with Cu^I/II(dmodmbp)₂ exhibits the highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 10.05% (J_SC = 13.72 mA cm ², V_OC = 1.035 V, and FF = 0.71) under sunlight illumination and an outstanding PCE of 34.64% under T5 illumination (6000 lux). These achievements underscore the remarkable potential of anthracene-bridged sensitized DSSCs in indoor and outdoor applications.