Synthesis and Characterization of Porphyrin-Fullerene Dyads for Applications in Dye – Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs)

Synthesis and Characterization of Porphyrin-Fullerene Dyads for Applications in Dye – Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs)

Photosynthesis is nature’s most efficient process where light is turned into energy. The design of donor-acceptor systems utilizing the idea of natural and bacterial photosynthesis shows promising application in light energy conversion, construction of optoelectronic systems, and in biomedical applications. In this research work, two different porphyrin-fullerene (donor-acceptor) dyads are synthesized. The difference between two dyads is the bridge chain length which links the porphyrin to the fullerene. The effect of bridge chain length on photophysical properties are investigated in detail. The photophysical properties of the dyads such as absorbance, fluorescence emission, quantum yield and lifetime were investigated. Zn metal was incorporated into the porphyrin core to enhance intersystem crossing (ISC) upon photoexcitation leading to the generation of triplet excited states in high quantum yield.