• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.421-426
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• 2024

Ru dye (Z-907) is a crucial photosensitizing material in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). To enhance the utilization of Ru dye's photosensitizing properties in bulk heterojunction solar cells, a method was developed to synthesize phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) nanoparticles that are chemically linked to Ru dye. PCBM contains a methoxy (-OCH₃) group, whereas Ru dye incorporates a carboxyl group (-COOH) within its molecular structure. By exploiting these complementary functional groups, a successful bond between Ru dye and PCBM was established through an anhydride functional group. The coupling of PCBM with Ru dye results in a modification of the energy levels, yielding lower LUMO (3.8 eV) and HOMO (6.1 eV) levels, compared with the LUMO (3.0 eV) and HOMO (5.2 eV) levels of Ru dye alone. This configuration potentially facilitates efficient electron transfer from Ru dye to PCBM, alongside promoting hole transfer from Ru dye to the conducting polymer. Consequently, the bulk heterojunction solar cells incorporating this Ru dye-PCBM configuration demonstrate superior performance, with an open circuit voltage (V_oc) of 0.62 V, short circuit current (J_sc) of 0.63 mA cm^-2, fill factor (FF) of 65.6%, and a photovoltaic conversion efficiency (η) of 0.25%.