Synthesis, photophysical, electrochemical, and quantum chemical investigations of a novel phenothiazine-derived organic dye for high efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells


ÖZEL K., Yurdakul E., Akdogan N., ATILGAN A., ARSLAN H., YILDIZ A., ...Daha Fazla

JPhys Energy, cilt.8, sa.1, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 8 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1088/2515-7655/ae512a
  • Dergi Adı: JPhys Energy
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Compendex, INSPEC, Directory of Open Access Journals
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), organic photosensitizer, phenothiazine dye, photovoltaic performance
  • Gazi Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

In the present work, we report the first-time synthesis of 3-(2-cyanopropanoic acid)-N-propyl-10H-phenothiazine, a novel phenothiazine-based dye designed to develop photovoltaic performance. The molecular structure has been confirmed by FT-IR, 1 H/ 13 C NMR, and HR-MS, and its optimized geometry and spectroscopic properties have been investigated by using density functional theory. The dye possesses a non-planar butterfly-shaped configuration, which suppresses aggregation, while its electron-rich N and S atoms enhance donor capability and light-harvesting efficiency. The dye exhibited strong absorption at 437 nm, with a HOMO of −5.21 eV and LUMO of −3 eV. Theoretical calculations indicate a favorable ΔG inj of −0.936 eV and light-harvesting efficiency of 73.7%. When utilized as a sensitizer, the device achieved a short-circuit current density (J sc) of 21.17 mA cm−2, open-circuit voltage (V oc) of 0.71 V, fill factor (FF) of 0.65, and power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 9.75%, outperforming the benchmark N719 (7.09%). These findings demonstrate that this newly synthesized phenothiazine derivative dye is a promising candidate for next-generation dye-sensitized solar cells.