Multiply Wrapped Porphyrin Dyes with a Phenothiazine Donor: A High Efficiency of 11.7% Achieved through a Synergetic Coadsorption and Cosensitization Approach

Photocurrent (Jsc) and photovoltage (Voc) are two important parameters for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) to achieve high power conversion efficiencies (PCEs). Herein, we synthesize four novel porphyrin dyes, XW36–XW39, using an N-phenyl-substituted phenothiazine donor to pursue higher PCE. For XW36 and XW37, the N-phenyl group is wrapped with two ortho-alkoxy chains. In contrast, it is substituted with a para-alkoxy group in XW38 and XW39. The phenothiazine wrapping in XW36 and XW37 induces more serious distortion, which is beneficial for anti-aggregation but unfavorable for the electron transfer from donor to a porphyrin framework. Thus, individual porphyrin dyes XW36 and XW37 exhibit efficiencies of 9.05 and 9.58%, respectively, lower than those of 9.51 and 10.0% achieved for XW38 and XW39, respectively. Besides, the introduction of a methyl group into a benzoic acid acceptor unit is conducive to anti-aggregation and thus improves the Voc and efficiencies. Therefore, higher efficiencies were achieved for XW37 and XW39, compared with XW36 and XW38, respectively. Interestingly, although the individual XW36 dye shows a lowest efficiency among the four dyes, a highest efficiency of 11.7% was obtained for XW36 on the basis of synergetic adsorption with chenodeoxycholic acid and PT-C6 because of simultaneously improved Jsc and Voc, which may be ascribed to the lowest dye-loading amount of XW36 among all of these porphyrin dyes, with the largest vacancy area left on the TiO2 surface available for cosensitizer PT-C6, resulting in a highest Jsc. The high efficiency of 11.7% is one of the highest efficiencies using I–/I3– electrolytes in DSSCs. These results provide an effective strategy for developing efficient DSSCs by the targeted coadsorption and cosensitization of porphyrin sensitizers optimized through introducing a bis(ortho-alkoxy)-wrapped phenyl group into the phenothiazine donor and/or methyl groups into the benzoic acid acceptor unit.