1. Department of Chemistry, Institute of Molecular Functional Materials (Areas of Excellence Scheme, University Grants Committee, Hong Kong), The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China;2. Department of Physics, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
Abstract:
The synthesis of two ruthenium terpyridine complexes containing conjugated polymers is reported and their application as photosensitizers in dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSC) was studied. The polymers were synthesized by the palladium‐catalyzed coupling reaction between the ruthenium complex monomer and the fluorene‐based comonomer. One polymer was functionalized with carboxylic acid groups on the main chain, which strongly facilitate the anchorage of polymer dye molecules on the electrode surface. DSSCs based on TiO2 nanoparticles and nanotubes were fabricated. It was found that the ruthenium complexes played an important role in the photosensitization process, and the power conversion efficiencies measured were in the order of 0.1%. Annealing of TiO2 nanotubes in ammonia gas flow did not result in significant improvement in cell performance.
