A novel HMP-2 dye of high extinction coefficient designed for enhancing the performance of ZnO platelets

Newly designed cis-[Ru(H(2)dcbpy) (L) (NCS)(2) (HMP-2), where L is 4-(4-(N,N-di-(p-hexyloxyphenyl)-amino)styryl)-4'-methyl-2,2'-bipyridine, sensitizing dye of high extinction coefficient than the routinely preferred ruthenium (II) cis-di(thiocyanato)bis(2,2'-bipyridyl-4,4'-dicarboxylic acid) (N3) sensitizing dye is explored. Electrochemically synthesized ZnO (plates of 4-5 mu m in height and 100-150 nm in width) electrodes are dipped intentionally in N3 and HMP-2 dyes for 20 h so as to observe large surface agglomeration effect for ZnO/N3 system. Due to the local inhomogeneity resulting from the Zn2+/dye complex layer formed between ZnO platelets and N3 dye, its solar-to-electrical conversion efficiency is inferior than aggregation-free ZnO/HMP-2. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V.