Synthesis, computational study and characterization of a 3-{[2,3-diphenylquinoxalin-6-yl]diazenyl}-4-hydroxy-2H-chromen-2- one azo dye for dye-sensitized solar cell applications

solution-processable 3-[2,3-diphenylquinoxalin-6-yl]diazenyl-4-hydroxy-2H-chromen-2-one azo dye was synthesized. Analysis of measured UV-visible absorption spectrum and frontier orbitals computed using simplified time dependent density functional theory (sTDDFT) revealed its suitability for optoelectronic applications. A dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) was fabricated using this metal-free organic dye as a sensitizer. The photovoltaic parameters of the cell were studied under simulated AM 1.5 illumination (100 mWcm ^-2 ). Comparing the photovoltaic data with a DSSC using a different member of the azo family of dyes, open circuit voltage and fill factor of the device studied in this work were found higher by 33 and 104