Cuprophilia: dye-sensitized solar cells with copper(I) dyes and copper(I)/(II) redox shuttles

With a goal of designing dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) containing only Earthabundant components to achieve sustainable energy conversion, DSCs with heteroleptic copper(I)-based dyes and homoleptic copper(I)/(II) redox shuttles have been investigated. By using a phosphonic acid anchor, and 4,4'-dimethoxy-6,6'- dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine as the ancillary ligand in the dye and in the electrolyte, a DSC photoconversion efficiency of 2.06% (38.1% relative to N719 set at 100%) was achieved. The results demonstrate the potential for all-copper-based DSCs, opening the way for further dye and electrolyte optimization.