Organic dyes end-capped with perfluorophenyl anchors: Synthesis, electrochemical properties and assessment of sensitization capacity of titania photoanodes

Abstract In the present work, organic sensitizers are synthesized and attached on TiO 2 photoanodes via Ti-O-C bonds. All sensitizers, designed for this purpose are symmetrical and have two perfluorophenyl end groups, which can lead to stable non-hydrolysable bonds on the TiO 2 surface. Broad absorption in the UV–Vis region and low band gap energy levels have been achieved through the alternation of carbazole- and benzothiadiazole-based units. All dyes and their corresponding photoanodes, were characterized via various complementary techniques, including Cyclic Voltammetry measurements and sensitization capacity in Dye-sensitized solar cell tests.