Ruthenium(II) Tricarboxyterpyridyl Complex with a Fluorine-substituted β-Diketonato Ligand for Highly Efficient Dye-sensitized Solar Cells

We have developed a new β-diketonato Ru(II) complex, Ru(4,4′,4″-tricarboxy-2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine) [4,4,4-trifluoro-1-(4-fluorophenyl)butane-1,3-dionato](NCS)[(C4H9)4N]2 (1) which shows very efficient panchromatic sensitization of nanocrystalline TiO2 solar cell over the whole visible range extending into the near IR region (ca. 950 nm). A solar energy conversion efficiency of 8.9% was attained under standard AM 1.5 irradiation (100 mW cm−2) with a short-circuit photocurrent density of 20.4 mA cm−2, an open-circuit photovoltage of 0.65 V, and a fill factor of 0.67.