Faculty Publications
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Item Synthesis, Characterization and Performance Studies of a New Metal-Free Organic Sensitizer for DSSC application(Elsevier Ltd, 2018) Naik, P.; Babu, D.D.; Su, R.; El-Shafei, A.; Vasudeva Adhikari, A.V.In this present work we report, design, synthesis and performance studies of a new metal-free organic dye (N, N'-PABA) based on N,N-dimethyl-4-vinyl aniline carrying 4-amino benzoic acid as acceptor, as sensitizers for sensitizing photoanode (TiO2). In the sensitizers, N,N-dimethylaniline ring acts as anelectron donorwhile para amino benzoic acid function as electron acceptor/anchoring units. It was synthesized via condensation reaction starting from simple 4-(N,N-dimethyl amino)benzaldehyde and their structures were confirmed using spectral techniques like FTIR, 1HNMR, 13CNMR, MS and elemental analysis. Further, it was subjected to electrochemical and optical characterization in order to evaluate their band gap and absorption/emission behavior. Further, DFT studies were performed using turbo mole V6.6 software package to evaluate their optimized geometry and FMO levels. Finally, DSSC devices were fabricated using this dye under simulated solar radiation AM1.5G and result revealed that it shows a conversion efficiency of 1%. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd.Item Molecular Engineering of a New Organic Chromophore with D-Ï€-A Architecture for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells(Elsevier Ltd, 2018) Naik, P.; Vasudeva Adhikari, A.V.Herein, we report design and synthesis of a new metal-free organic dye N1 derived from (Z)-3-(9-hexyl-9H-carbazol-3-yl)-2-(thiophen-2-yl) acrylonitrile scaffold. In this design, the electron rich carbazole unit is connected to rhodanine-3-acetic acid via cyano vinyl thiophene as Ï€-spacer. Its molecular structure was confirmed by FTIR, NMR, Mass spectral and elemental analyses. The dye was subjected to optical and electrochemical studies in order to investigate their absorption/emission behaviour as well as HOMO/LUMO energies. The DFT studies were performed using Turbomole 7.1V software and the results indicated the existence of proper charge separation between its HOMO and LUMO energy levels. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Item New D-?-A type indole based chromogens for DSSC: Design, synthesis and performance studies(Elsevier Ltd, 2015) Babu, D.D.; Gachumale, S.R.; Anandan, S.; Vasudeva Adhikari, A.V.Three new Donor-?-Acceptor type dyes D1-3 carrying 3-(1-hexyl-1H-indol-3-yl)-2-(thiophen-2-yl)acrylonitrile as backbone with three different acceptor units were designed and synthesized as promising sensitizers for solar cell application. The new dyes were characterized using various spectral and elemental analyses. Their optical and electrochemical properties were investigated using spectrophotometry and cyclic voltammetry respectively, while their photovoltaic performance was evaluated by a device fabrication study. The devices were subjected to electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to gain an insight into the interfacial charge transfer and recombination process while in use. Further, density functional theory study was carried out to investigate their Frontier Molecular Orbital energy states. The study reveals that the dye carrying 4-aminobenzoic acid as an acceptor showed the highest photovoltaic efficiency among the three dyes. This can be attributed to the longer electron lifetime and lower recombination rates. Additionally, a Single crystal X-ray diffraction study confirmed the structure of a key intermediate. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Item New cyanopyridine based conjugative polymers as blue emitters: Synthesis, photophysical, theoretical and electroluminescence studies(Elsevier B.V., 2018) Pilicode, N.; K M, N.; M N, S.; Vasudeva Adhikari, A.V.Herein, we report the design of three new blue light emitting conjugated polymers (Th-Py-1, Th-Py-2 and Th-Py-3), carrying cyanopyridine ring as a strong electron accepting unit and thiophene as well as phenylene vinylene scaffolds with different substituents, as electron donating moieties. The newly designed monomers/polymers were synthesized using well-known synthetic protocols such as cyclocondensation, O-alkylation, Suzuki cross coupling, Wittig and Knoevenagel reactions. They were well-characterized by spectral, thermal, photophysical, electrochemical and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) techniques. Further, they were subjected to theoretical studies using DFT simulations, performed at B3LYP/TZVP level using Turbomole 7.2 V software package. The new polymers were tested in PLED devices (ITO/PEDOT: PSS/Polymer/Al) as emissive materials. Optical studies revealed that, all the polymers displayed light absorption in the range of 377–397 nm and blue light emission in the order of 432–482 nm, respectively. Further, their band-gaps were calculated to be in the order of 2.55–2.64 eV using both optical and electrochemical data. Furthermore, the TGA study indicated that, they possess good thermal stability with onset decomposition temperature, greater than 300 ?C under nitrogen atmosphere. Interestingly, use of these polymers in new PLEDs as emissive layers, has shown improved performance when compared to previously reported polymers in similar type of devices. They show blue light emission with a low threshold voltage of 3.5–3.9 V, affirming an efficient electron injection in the diodes. © 2018 Elsevier B.V.Item Simple thiophene based organic dyes as active photosensitizers for dssc application: From molecular design to structure property relationship(Sumy State University larysa.odnodvorets@gmail.com, 2020) Keremane, K.S.; Naik, P.; Vasudeva Adhikari, A.V.The main objective of our present investigation includes the design synthesis and characterization of two novel D--A configured thiophene based dyes C1-2, carrying two different anchors and the same donor system. In the new design, a simple O-alkylated phenyl group as a donor scaffold, cyanovinylene and thiophene group serve as a-spacer, while cyanoacetic acid, barbituric acid units function as electron acceptor/ anchoring units. The newly synthesized compounds were characterized by FTIR, NMR spectroscopic techniques including the elemental analysis. Further, their optical properties were investigated by using UV-visible, fluorescence spectrophotometer. In addition, the Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to get their electron distribution in FMO levels. In order to investigate their photovoltaic characteristics, the synthesized dyes were employed as sensitizers towards the fabrication of DSSC's. The device fabricated with dye C1 displayed better PCE of 1.2 % with JSC of 3.64 mA·cm-2, VOC of 0.50 V and FF of 65 % than other dye C2. These experimental results provide a better understanding and deeper insight into the intricacies involved in the design of superior sensitizers to further improve the performance of DSSCs. © 2020 Sumy State University.Item Nicotinonitrile centered luminescent polymeric materials: Structural, optical, electrochemical, and theoretical investigations(John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2020) Pilicode, N.; Naik, P.; Vasudeva Adhikari, A.V.Herein, we describe the design, synthesis, and structural characterization of three new push-pull type conjugative polymers, that is, VPPy1-3 comprising strong electron-withdrawing N-heterocyclic nicotinonitrile scaffold coupled with electron-donating phenylene units through vinylene bridges, as promising candidates for optoelectronic applications. They were successfully synthesized from their respective co-monomers by simple polycondensation synthetic routes, viz. Knoevenagel and Wittig reactions. All the polymers were subjected to photophysical, electrochemical, thermal, and theoretical studies in order to ascertain their suitability in polymer light-emitting diode applications as blue emitters. Evidently, they are readily soluble in most of the organic solvents, enabling them easy solution-processable. These new polymers display strong blue photoluminescence at the peak in the range of 431 to 462 nm with a wide optical bandgap in the order of 2.55 to 2.63 eV. The obtained electrochemical data were employed to evaluate their HOMO/LUMOs. The density functional theory calculations generated useful information on their FMO, molecular geometries, and electronic properties. Also, the influence of their structural modification on the above-said properties was discussed in detail to reveal the structure-property relationship. Conclusively, these results illustrate the great prospective of this class of polymeric materials for the application in solution-processable blue LEDs. © 2020 Society of Plastics EngineersItem Simple carbazole derivatives with mono/dimethoxyphenylacrylonitrile substituents as hole-transporting materials: Performance studies in hybrid perovskite solar cells(John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2021) Keremane, K.S.; Vasudeva Adhikari, A.V.Herein, we report the development of two new low-cost 9-(2-ethylhexyl)-9H-carbazoles carrying the mono/dimethoxyphenyl substituted cyanovinylene units symmetrically at 3- and 6-positions of the carbazole core (CZ1-2), as potential hole-transporting materials (HTMs) for perovskite solar cell (PSC) application. The current work highlights their structural, photophysical, electrochemical, theoretical, and photoelectrochemical studies, including evaluation of their structure-property relationships. Evidently, the optical studies showcased their excellent fluorescence ability due to their push-pull natured structure; their ?abs and ?emi values were found to be in the order of 410–430 nm and 530–560 nm, respectively, with a bandgap in the range of 2.5–2.6 eV. Further, their theoretical studies, performed by using the DFT simulations clearly revealed in-depth information on their molecular geometries, FMO, and electronic properties. Finally, new PSCs were fabricated successfully by employing CZ1-2 as HTMs to evaluate their photovoltaic performances. Their results indicated that the device with CZ1 displayed enhanced PCE of 2.55% (JSC= 7.85 mA/cm2, VOC= 0.79 V and FF = 40%) than the cell with CZ2 (PCE = 1.71%, JSC= 8.15 mA/cm2, VOC = 0.4 V, FF = 49%) and the obtained data are well comparable with reference, Sipro-OMeTAD (PCE = 4.76%, JSC= 12.27 mA/cm2, VOC = 0.84 V, FF = 45%). Conclusively, the study furnishes a deeper understanding of the intricacies involved in the structural modification of in low-cost HTM in achieving an enhanced performance of the devices. © 2021 The Authors. Electrochemical Science Advances published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.Item Carbazole based organic dyes as effective photosensitizers: A comprehensive analysis of their structure-property relationships(John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2022) Naik, P.; Keremane, K.S.; Elmorsy, M.R.; El-Shafei, A.; Vasudeva Adhikari, A.V.The present work describes the effect of structural modification of carbazole-based photosensitizers carrying carboxylic acid as a common anchoring functionality, on the photovoltaic parameters of newly fabricated DSSCs. In this study, we have selected our previously reported three carbazole-based derivatives, viz. S1-3 having different structural designs, that is, D-π-A (S1), D-D-π-A (S2), and A-π-D-π-A (S3) with different donor units and π-spacers, but an identical cyanoacetic acid anchoring unit. We have evaluated their optical, electrochemical, and photovoltaic behaviors in order to explore their structure-property relationships. Also, the theoretical investigations were performed to obtain a deeper understanding of their HOMO-LUMO levels, charge distribution in FMOs, directional flow of electrons within the push-pull type sensitizers, and optical behavior. Finally, the DSSCs were constructed by employing these dyes as sensitizers without any co-absorbents and the performance of the devices was evaluated by using illuminated current-voltage characteristics. Among the tested dyes, di-anchoring S3 exhibited improved PCE of 3.77 % due to its strong adsorption on the TiO2 surface that resulted in superior VOC of the cell. While the S2 containing electron-releasing anisole as an auxiliary donor exhibited better JSC value leading to the optimum PCE of 3.73 % which is comparable to that of S3. Obviously, these results validate the role of the π-spacer and additional donor of the sensitizers on the overall performance of the DSSCs. © 2021 The Authors. Electrochemical Science Advances published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.Item Synthesis, optical, electrochemical, and computational investigation of new cyanopyridine-centered organic dyads(Elsevier B.V., 2023) Naik, P.; Pilicode, N.; Keremane, K.S.; Acharya, M.; Vasudeva Adhikari, A.V.Herein we report the molecular design, synthesis, and inclusive investigation of four novel di-anchored symmetric dyes (CP1-4) centered on electron deficient cyanopyridine scaffold as possible photosensitizers for DSSC application. These new chromogens (CP1-4) comprise a powerful electron-withdrawing cyanopyridine moiety linked with additional electron attracting functionalities such as cyanoacetic acid (CP1), 3-(carboxymethyl) rhodanine (CP2), 2,4,6-pyrimidinetrione (CP3), and 2,6-dihydroxy-2-mercaptopyrimidine (CP4), as effective acceptor/anchoring units via biphenyl donor units. Their in-depth optical and electrochemical behaviour were investigated to assess their suitability as photosensitizers. Further, the molecular modeling calculations were undertaken to understand their ground state properties and energy level potentials. The comprehensive studies revealed that they own all the requisites to performance as a potential photosensitizer for DSSC application. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.Item Synthesis of nonlinear heteroaromatic donor–acceptor conjugated polymers: Structural, theoretical, electrochemical, and optical properties(John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2025) Sunitha, M.S.; Naik, P.; Vishnumurthy, K.A.; Vasudeva Adhikari, A.V.This study presents a new class of donor–acceptor (D–A) type NLO-active polymeric materials (P1–4), bearing 3,4-disubstituted thiophene as electron donor and 1,3,4-oxadiazole as electron acceptor units, along with various aromatic spacers, namely: phenylenevinylene (P1), 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene-EDOT (P2), naphthalene (P3), and biphenyl group (P4). Their optical and electrochemical behavior was thoroughly examined using cyclic voltammetry, UV–visible absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence emission spectroscopy, and Z-scan technique for nonlinear optical assessments. Additionally, Density Functional Theory analysis and Molecular Electrostatic Potential mapping were carried out to understand the charge distribution and electronic structure in the repeating units of polymers. The influence of the incorporated conjugated ?-linkers on their molecular geometry and optoelectronic properties was analyzed to reveal the relationship between molecular structures and optoelectronic characteristics. Interestingly, P1–4 exhibited distinctive electrochemical band gaps, and noteworthy optical limiting behavior attributed to efficient two-photon absorption, demonstrating their potential for optoelectronic and photonic applications. Among the new polymers P1–4, P2 displayed the highest two-photon absorption coefficient. Highlights: A class of D–A type polymers with varied aromatic ?-spacers were synthesized. New polymers were characterized as potential optical limiting materials. Electronic and charge distribution properties were studied by DFT and MESP. Optical and electrochemical studies showed suitability for nonlinear optics. TPA values are comparable to those typically found in top-tier NLO materials. © 2025 Society of Plastics Engineers.