Enhanced light harvesting efficiencies of bis(ferrocenylmethyl)-based sulfur rich sensitizers used in dye sensitized TiO2 solar cellsCCDC reference numbers 757585 (1) and 797328 (2). For crystallographic data in CIF or other electronic format see DOI: 10.1039/c1dt11576f

In this work, the photosensitizing properties of ferrocene (Fc)-based compounds FcCH 2 CS 3 CH 2 Fc ( 1 ) and FcCH 2 SSCH 2 Fc ( 2 ) were investigated and significant enhancement in the light harvesting efficiency was observed compared to those achieved with previously reported compounds from our lab. The compounds were fully characterized by spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography, and their electrochemical properties studied. DSSCs based on these dyes display efficiencies comparable to those of a standard cell based on N719 under similar experimental conditions. These studies demonstrate that ferrocenyl-based sulfur rich compounds with proper orientation of the Fc groups assisted via suitable linkers, together with desired redox properties and visible region electronic absorption features could constitute a new class of photosensitizers targeting light driven reactions. The photosensitizing properties of two ferrocene-based sulphur rich compounds, FcCH 2 CS 3 CH 2 Fc ( 1 ) and FcCH 2 SSCH 2 Fc ( 2 ), were studied showing a remarkable enhancement in their conversion efficiencies, almost comparable to that of the standard dye N719.