Conjugated Organic Compounds for Solar Energy Conversion to Electricity and Fuels

Over the years, conjugated organic compounds have been extensively employed in devices for solar energy exploitation, both as light-harvesting materials and semiconductors with high charge carrier mobility: relevant examples include sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) and hydrogen photocatalytic production, small-molecule donor materials in organic solar cells and hole-conductive materials for perovskite solar cells . In this communication, we will provide an overview of our group's recent activity in the design, synthesis and application of donor-acceptor conjugated compounds for solar energy conversion. Compounds containing different heterocyclic rings were assembled by means of typical organometallic and transition metal-catalyzed transformations, such as halogen-lithium exchange and Pd- or Cu-mediated coupling reactions, and were characterized using various spectroscopic and electrochemical techniques. The influence of their optical and redox properties on the efficiency of solar energy conversion devices will be discussed, together with the role of charge transfer processes taking place between them and other device components (such as inorganic semiconductors, electrolytes, sacrificial electron donors).