Enveloping porphyrins for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells

A series of porphyrins bearing alkoxyl and/or alkyl chains were prepared to investigate the roles of alkoxyl/alkyl chains in the enhanced photovoltaic performance of the dyes. Based on the experimental results and the molecular simulations, we demonstrated that suitable long alkoxyl chains are capable of wrapping the porphyrin core, thus resulting in decreased dye aggregation, elevated excited states and LUMOs, and improved photovoltaic performance.