Origins of device performance in dicarboxyterpyridine Ru(II) dye-sensitized solar cells.

This study carefully examines carrier dynamics in highly efficient dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) based on a series of recently developed dicarboxyterpyridine Ru(II) dyes (PRT-11-15). Comprehensive spectral response analyses, transient photovoltage and photocurrent measurements, and transient absorption techniques are exploited to investigate the effects of various functionalized terpyridines on carrier injection efficiency (η(inj)), electron diffusion length (L) and dye-regeneration efficiency (η(reg)). The resulting parameters are fully comprehended, which are then correlated with the origins of the device performance such as short circuit current density J(sc), open circuit voltage V(oc) and hence the overall conversion efficiency η in these Ru(II) based DSSCs.