Convergent synthesis of near-infrared absorbing, "push-pull", bisthiophene-substituted, zinc(II) phthalocyanines and their application in dye-sensitized solar cells.

Zinc(II) phthalocyanine dyes that contain triarylamine-terminated bisthiophene and hexylbisthiophene groups have been synthesized by a convergent approach by using carboxytriiodo-ZnPc as a precursor. Further transformation of the iodo groups by a Pd-catalyzed reaction allowed easy preparation of further extended π-conjugated carboxy-ZnPcs. These dyes have been used as sensitizers in dye-sensitized solar cells, which exhibit a panchromatic response and moderate overall efficiencies.