Design and Synthesis of Phenylacridine-Based on Organic Dyes and Its Applications in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
T. Saravana Kumaran, A. Prakasam, G. Venkatesh, P. Vennila, Y. Sheena Mary, S. Parveen Banu
Abstract
Abstract Dimethylphenyldihydroacridine dyes are an important type of organic molecule that are used in dye-sensitized solar cells. Two new organic dyes, namely (E)-3-(7-bromo-9,9-dimethyl-10-phenyl-9,10-dihydroacridin-2-yl)acrylic acid (DPAA) and (E)-3-(7-bromo-9,9-dimethyl-10-phenyl-9,10-dihydroacridin-2-yl)-2-cyanoacrylic acid (DPACA) were synthesized and developed as photosensitizers for DSSCs. The DPAA and DPACA dyes are characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), and Ultraviolet-visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been used to evaluate the energy level of dyes. The electronic excitations and charge transport properties are investigated using time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) methods. The energy levels of Highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and Lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) molecular orbitals can be tuned by varying the π-conjugated units and the donating possibility of the donor part. The relationship between the structure of the dye and the photophysical, photovoltaic, and performance characteristics of Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) is investigated in depth. In addition, some quantitative parameters influencing the efficiency of power conversion, such as electron injection driving and light-harvesting efficiency have been calculated to identify the organic dyes for DSSCs applications.