High efficiency solid-state sensitized heterojunction photovoltaic device

The high molar extinction coefficient heteroleptic ruthenium dye, NaRu(4,4′-bis(5-(hexylthio)thiophen-2-yl)-2,2′-bipyridine) (4-carboxylic acid-4′-carboxylate-2,2′-bipyridine) (NCS)2, exhibits certified 5% electric power conversion efficiency at AM 1.5 solar irradiation (100mWcm−2) in a solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell using 2,2′,7,7′-tetrakis-(N,N-di-pmethoxyphenylamine)-9,9′-spirobifluorene (spiro-MeOTAD) as the organic hole-transporting material. This demonstration elucidates a class of photovoltaic devices with potential for low-cost power generation.