Synthesis of EDOT-containing organic dyes via one-pot, four-component Suzuki–Miyaura coupling and the evaluation of their photovoltaic properties

We have developed a one-pot, four-component Suzuki–Miyaura coupling for the synthesis of thiophene-based donor–π-bridge–acceptor (D–π–A) dyes for dye-sensitized solar cells. Two D–π–A dyes, 19 and 20, retaining 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) beside a cyanoacrylic acid moiety, and one D–π–A dye 21 without EDOT (reference compound) were rapidly synthesized in accordance with the developed procedure. The measurement of the absorption spectra and the electrochemical properties of synthesized dyes, and the photovoltaic properties of solar cells that were prepared using the synthesized dyes 19–21, revealed that the dyes retaining only one EDOT beside a cyanoacrylic acid moiety would exert a high Jsc.