0000000000082471
AUTHOR
Zafar Iqbal
Impact of hydroxy and octyloxy substituents of phenothiazine based dyes on the photovoltaic performance
Two novel organic dyes containing hydroxy and octyloxy substituents onto a phenothiazine skeleton were synthesized and their effects on the photovoltaic performance were studied. Hydroxy acts as an ancillary anchoring unit along with the carboxylic group, while the phenothiazine modified moiety acts as an electron donor. The photophysical and electrochemical studies revealed that maximum absorbance of the dye with the hydroxy group in the solution was blue shifted and its band gap increased, indicating that donor acceptor strength was reduced as compared to the octyloxy substituted dye. Furthermore, electron lifetime of the organic dye with the hydroxy moiety was shorter due to smaller resi…
Dithienopyrrolobenzothiadiazole-based organic dyes for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells
Four novel D–π–A metal-free organic dyes DTP1–4 containing a dithienopyrrolobenzothiadiazole (DTPBT) unit were synthesized and applied in dye-sensitized solar cells, where DTPBT was employed as a π-spacer for the first time. The photophysical, electrochemical and photovoltaic properties of the dyes were systematically investigated. The dyes DTP1–4 showed broad absorption spectra and high molar extinction coefficient, resulting in high light harvesting efficiency. In addition, the impacts of donors and the thiophene unit as an additional π-spacer were also studied. The results showed that the dye DTP4 with triphenylamine as the donor exhibited better photovoltaic performance than DTP1–3 with…
Anti-recombination organic dyes containing dendritic triphenylamine moieties for high open-circuit voltage of DSSCs
Abstract Three novel sensitizers with dendritic triphenylamine moieties were synthesized and used for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Their absorption spectra, electrochemical and photovoltaic properties were extensively investigated. All three DSSCs exhibit high open-circuit voltage over 0.8 V. The photovoltaic results indicate that the dendritic triphenylamine units improve the open-circuit voltage, which is attributed to the retardation of charge recombination, demonstrating that non-planar and larger molecules exert better blocking function. Under standard global AM 1.5 solar conditions, the best performance of the DSSCs exhibits a short-circuit current density of 10.35 mA cm−2, an …
A field induced ferromagnetic-like transition below 2.8 K in Li2CuO2: An experimental and theoretical study
The low temperature magnetic properties of the Li2CuO2 compound have been investigated by means of superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry. We find in addition to an antiferromagnetic phase below 9.5 K a ferromagnetic-like steep rise of the magnetization around 2.8 K. The observed low temperature behavior is discussed by considering second and fourth order magnetocrystalline effective anisotropy coefficients, in addition to the exchange couplings reported in the literature. Work at the Institut de Ciencia dels Materials was supported by the Spanish Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Technología Grant No. CICYT MAT 96-1037.
Impact of the position isomer of the linkage in the double D–A branch-based organic dyes on the photovoltaic performance
Abstract Three organic dyes with double D–A system were synthesized and applied in the dye-sensitized solar cells. These dyes contain phenothiazine as an electron donor and cyanoacetic acid as an acceptor/anchor. Linkages were incorporated at the ortho-, meta- and para-positions and their impact on the performance of photovoltaic was observed. Among them, the dye with a para-position linkage exhibited the highest short-circuit photocurrent density (12.26 mA cm−2) and open-circuit photovoltage (756 mV), leading to the best overall efficiency (6.14%) due to better light harvesting capacity under standard global 1.5 AM conditions. Under similar measuring conditions the dyes with ortho and meta…
Influence of spatial arrangements of π-spacer and acceptor of phenothiazine based dyes on the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells
Abstract Three phenothiazine based organic dyes PTA , PDTA and PTDA with D– π –A, π –D– π –A and A– π –D– π –A frameworks were designed and synthesized for the dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Phenothiazine with octyloxyphenyl moiety acts as donor while thiophene and cyanoacetic acid units act as a π -spacer and an acceptor, respectively. The effects of the molecular structures of the dyes on the performance of the DSSCs were investigated systematically along with their photophysical and photoelectrochemical properties. The dye PTDA with A– π –D– π –A framework exhibited a better light harvesting capacity and an effective electron extraction pathway from the electron donor to the TiO 2 s…
SARS-CoV-2 infection and venous thromboembolism after surgery: an international prospective cohort study
SARS-CoV-2 has been associated with an increased rate of venous thromboembolism in critically ill patients. Since surgical patients are already at higher risk of venous thromboembolism than general populations, this study aimed to determine if patients with peri-operative or prior SARS-CoV-2 were at further increased risk of venous thromboembolism. We conducted a planned sub-study and analysis from an international, multicentre, prospective cohort study of elective and emergency patients undergoing surgery during October 2020. Patients from all surgical specialties were included. The primary outcome measure was venous thromboembolism (pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis) within 30 da…
Novel dithieno[3,2-b:2′,3′-d]pyrrole-based organic dyes with high molar extinction coefficient for dye-sensitized solar cells
Abstract Three new metal-free organic dyes FD1 – 3 with a planar dithieno[3,2- b :2′,3′- d ]pyrrole unit as linker were synthesized and used for dye-sensitized solar cells with high molar extinction coefficients. In this work, dithieno[3,2- b :2′,3′- d ]pyrrole was employed as π-conjugated bridge to construct A–π– d –π–A organic dyes, where 9,9-dihexyl-9 H -fluorene was used as a donor, and cyanoacrylic acid as an electron acceptor. For a typical device, a solar energy conversion efficiency ( η ) of 6.36% based on FD2 was achieved under simulated AM 1.5 solar irradiation (100 mW cm −2 ) with a short-circuit photocurrent density ( J sc ) of 13.76 mA cm −2 , an open-circuit voltage ( V oc ) o…
Effect of the linkage location in double branched organic dyes on the photovoltaic performance of DSSCs
Two novel double branched D–π–A organic dyes (DB dyes) are synthesized to investigate the influence of the linkage location in DB dyes on the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), where phenothiazine is introduced as a donor, thiophene–benzotriazole unit as the π-bridge and cyanoacrylic acid as the electron-acceptor. The photophysical, electrochemical and photovoltaic properties of the dyes are systematically investigated. The results show that the location of the linkage unit has a small effect on the physical and electrochemical properties of the dyes. However, when the dyes are applied in DSSCs, an obvious decline of short-circuit current (Jsc) and open-circuit voltage (Voc)…
Synthesis and photovoltaic performance of dihydrodibenzoazepine-based sensitizers with additional lateral anchor
Three novel metal-free organic dyes with dihydro-5H-dibenzo[b,f]azepine as a donor and cyanoacrylic acid as an anchoring unit were designed as an innovative linear skeleton of D-D-pi-A type of organic dyes. The conversion efficiency of the derived dye-sensitized solar cells is moderate. Among them, the dye with a hydroxy group as an additional anchoring moiety exhibited the highest UV-Vis absorption with a maximum molar extinction coefficient of 24,136 M-1 cm(-1) at lambda(max) = 458 nm and the best photovoltaic performance with an overall power conversion efficiency of 4.88%, while the dye with a carboxy group as an additional anchoring moiety exhibited the lowest conversion efficiency (4.…
Phenothiazine-based dyes with bilateral extension of π-conjugation for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells
Four novel organic photo-sensitizers based on phenothiazine were designed, synthesized and characterized for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells. Anisole, octyloxybenzene and dodecyloxybenzene were incorporated into the phenothiazine by an Ullmann reaction. An additional octyloxybenzene was incorporated into one dye unit through a Suzuki coupling reaction. The modified phenothiazine moiety acts as an electron donor and cyanoacrylic acid acts as an electron acceptor and anchoring unit. The photophysical, electrochemical and sensitizing characteristics of the new dyes were evaluated. The bis(octyloxybenzene) substituted dye delivered the best performance with its sensitized solar cell displa…
Trilateral π-conjugation extensions of phenothiazine-based dyes enhance the photovoltaic performance of the dye-sensitized solar cells
Abstract Two novel organic dyes TLEP-1 and TLEP-2 based on phenothiazine with trilateral π-conjugation extensions were designed and synthesized for dye-sensitized solar cells, where phenothiazine ring was linked with two phenyl moieties at 7- and 10-positions as the first and second π-conjugation extensions, and with furan or thiophene ring at 3-position as the third π-conjugation extension for TLEP-1 and TLEP-2, respectively. The influence of the π-conjugation extensions on the photovoltaic performance was evaluated. The cell based on TLEP-2 exhibits an impressive short-circuit photocurrent density of 14.87 mA cm−2, which is much higher than the cell based on the reference dye without π-co…
Molecular design of the diketopyrrolopyrrole-based dyes with varied donor units for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells
Abstract Three types of novel diketopyrrolopyrrole-based organic dyes ( Type 1 – 3 ) with phenyl unit as an additional π -bridge and triphenylamine or phenothiazine as the donors are designed and synthesized for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Type 1 dyes incorporating the donor segment directly to the diketopyrrolopyrrole core lead to a better electron communication between the donor and acceptor, allowing an efficient charge transfer process. Type 2 and Type 3 dyes with a phenyl unit between the donor and diketopyrrolopyrrole unit show lower delocalization of the excited state. Compared with Type 3 dyes, Type 1 dyes exhibit higher conjugated skeleton co planarity and shorter electron …
The potential for pneumococcal vaccination in Hajj pilgrims: expert opinion.
Hajj is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and is one of the largest mass gathering events in the world. Acute respiratory tract infections are very common during Hajj, primarily as a result of close contact among pilgrims, intense congestion, shared accommodation and air pollution. A number of vaccines are (or have been) recommended for Hajj pilgrims in recent years. Several additional vaccines could significantly reduce the morbidity and mortality at Hajj and should be considered in health recommendations for pilgrims. Pneumococcal vaccines (particularly for those aged >65 years) are widely available, and have been shown to reduce the burden of disease associat…