A Triphenylamine Dye Model for the Study of Intramolecular Energy Transfer and Charge Transfer in Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract A novel dye ( 2TPA‐R ), containing two triphenylamine (TPA) units connected by a vinyl group and rhodanine‐3‐acetic acid as the electron acceptor, is designed and synthesized successfully to reveal the working principles of organic dye in dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). 2TPA and TPA‐R , which consist of two TPA units connected by vinyl and a TPA unit linked with rhodanine‐3‐acetic acid, respectively, are also synthesized as references to study the intramolecular energy transfer (E n T) and charge transfer (ICT) processes of 2TPA‐R in CH 2 Cl 2 solution and on a TiO 2 surface. The results suggest that the intramolecular E n T and ICT processes show a positive effect on the performance of DSSCs. However, the flexible structure and less‐adsorbed amount of dye on TiO 2 may make it difficult to improve the efficiency of DSSCs. This study on intramolecular E n T and ICT processes acts as a guide for the design and synthesis of efficient organic dyes in the future.