Boradiazaindacenes (a.k.a., BODIPY dyes, borondipyrrins, BDP) are well-known fluorophores with remarkable photophysical properties, i.e., high quantum yields and large extinction coefficients. In recent years, a number of research groups including ours, revealed another attractive property of these dyes, their versatile chemistry.[1-3] Thus, boradiazaindacene dyes can be modified in many ways to push the absorption wavelength beyond 600 nm, and inherent polarization in the excited state allows straight-forward functionalization for DSSC applications.
In a previous study,[4] we have also demonstrated that, with dendritic systems having peripheral boradiazaindacene units, very efficient light harvesting seems to be possible. Following a promising pilot experiment using a boradiazaindacene dye as a DSSC sensitizer, we initiated a systematic study of these dyes, trying to incorporate differentially functionalized boradiazaindacene dyes to ensure a panchromatic character. In addition, structural modifications aiming minimization of aggregation will be discussed.

References:
1. Coskun, A.; Akkaya, E.U. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 10464.
2. Coskun, A.; Akkaya, E.U. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, 14474.
3. Dost, Z.; Atilgan, S.; Akkaya, E.U. Tetrahedron, 2006, 62, 8484.
4. Yilmaz, M. D.; Bozdemir, O. A.; Akkaya, E.U. Org. Lett. 2006, 8, 2871.