The effect of cis–trans configurational difference on the performance of pyridylimine-based ruthenium sensitizers

New heteroleptic Ru(II) complexes consisting of pyridylimine as an ancillary ligand were synthesized and characterized for applications in dye sensitized solar cells. Complexes with cis and trans configurations around the central ruthenium metal were obtained using simple synthetic protocols by varying the substituents on the pyridylimine ligands. The geometries of these complexes were confirmed by single crystal X-ray analysis. The effect of the difference in the configurations of these complexes on their device performances was studied and the sensitizer with a trans arrangement around the metal showed a higher overall conversion efficiency (η) of 7.27% than that of the cis configured complex (η = 2.04%).