Progress of dye sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

For Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, the development of new renewable and sustainable energy sources is an issue of global concern to be addressed. Among sustainable energy sources, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have received considerable attention from the viewpoint of their interesting construction and operational principles, decorative natures, high power conversion efficiency, and low cost of production, since Grätzel and O’Regan reported high performance DSSCs based on ruthenium(II) pyridyl complex dyes adsorbed on a nanocrystalline n-type semiconductor TiO₂ electrode in 1991. To improve photovoltaic performances of DSSCs, much effort has been made towards the development of various types of organic dye sensitizers as well as Ru complex dyes and there has been a gradual accumulation of information about the relationship between the chemical structures and photovoltaic performances of DSSCs. In this review, progress of dye sensitizers for DSSCs are overviewed.