0000000001053193
AUTHOR
Cristina Cebrian
Bidentate pyridyl‐NHC ligands: synthesis, ground and excited state properties of their iron(II) complexes and role of the fac/mer isomerism
International audience; Iron complexes are promising candidates for the development of sustainable molecular photoactive materials as an alternative to those based on precious metals such as Ir, Pt or Ru. These compounds possess metal-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) transitions potentially of high interest for energy conversion or photocatalysis applications if the ultrafast deactivation via lower-lying metal-centred (MC) states can be impeded. Following an introduction describing the main design strategies used so far to increase the MLCT lifetimes, we review some of our latest contributions to the field regarding bidentate Fe(II) complexes comprising N-heterocyclic carbene ligands. The disc…
NHC-Based Iron Sensitizers for DSSCs
International audience; Nanostructured dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are promising photovoltaic devices because of their low cost and transparency. Ruthenium polypyridine complexes have long been considered as lead sensitizers for DSSCs, allowing them to reach up to 11% conversion efficiency. However, ruthenium suffers from serious drawbacks potentially limiting its widespread applicability, mainly related to its potential toxicity and scarcity. This has motivated continuous research efforts to develop valuable alternatives from cheap earth-abundant metals, and among them, iron is particularly attractive. Making iron complexes applicable in DSSCs is highly challenging due to an ultrafa…