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Competing interests The authors declare that they have started the process of patent application in the US patent office relating to the selleck compound content of this manuscript. The authors will ask Iran Nanotechnology Initiative Council and Chemnitz University of Technology in Chemnitz, Germany for financial support for patent application fees. Authors’ contributions AN is the director of this experimental study and has drafted this manuscript. MG, as a MSc student, is jointly supervised by SJA to simulate the compound in question, as discussed in [3] and background sections of this paper, and by AN to carry out the experimental measurements, as discussed in this paper. MHY participated in the experimental studies by PL measurements. BI 2536 datasheet All authors read and approved the final manuscript.”
“Background Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are regarded as promising low-cost solar cells with high light-to-energy conversion efficiency. Systems

based on titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticle films sensitized with ruthenium (Ru)-based dyes have achieved a light-to-energy conversion efficiency of more than 11% [1, 2]. Other metal oxides, including tin dioxide, indium (III) oxide, niobium pentoxide, and zinc oxide (ZnO), have also been used as photoelectrode materials [3–5]. Among these materials, ZnO has attracted considerable attention

next because it has an energy-band structure similar to that of TiO2 but possesses a higher electron mobility and allows more flexibility in synthesis and GS-4997 morphologies [6, 7]. The photovoltaic performance of a DSSC relies on the characteristics of its photoanode, which plays a central role in converting light into electrical energy. A DSSC photoanode typically consists of a mesoporous oxide film on a transparent conducting glass substrate. Dye molecules that capture photons from light during device operation are attached to the surface of oxide film. Photoexcitation of the dye molecules leads to the injection of electrons into the oxide film. Therefore, an oxide film with a large interfacial surface area and superior electron transport properties is vital for strong light harvesting and efficient device performance. Consequently, numerous researchers have attempted to develop novel nanostructures with these desirable properties [8–12]. Another important strategy that has been widely adopted in DSSCs to boost optical absorption is light scattering [13]. The basic principle of the light scattering method is to confine light propagation and extend the traveling distance of light within the oxide film. In this way, the opportunity of photon absorption by the dye molecules is increased, so is the cell conversion efficiency.