Unsymmetrical Squaraines Incorporating Quinoline for Near Infrared Responsive Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract

Two new unsymmetrical squaraines (<b>WCH-SQ10</b> and <b>WCH-SQ11</b>), wherein the electron-rich 3,4-ethylenedioxy-thiophene conjugated fragment was linked unconventionally to the squaraine core and triphenyl amine donor, and carboxylic acid substituted quinoline was used as an acceptor, were prepared. <b>WCH-SQ10</b> and <b>WCH-SQ11</b> dyes in ethanol have the λ_max of 686 and 673 nm, respectively. The corresponding photovoltaic devices exhibit an attractively panchromatic response over 1000 nm, suggesting that quinoline benefits the low energetic electron injection