LAUSR

Abstract Three new isomeric Zn(II) complexes derived from pyridine based Schiff bases synthesized by condensation of pyridine-2-carboxyaldehyde and three positional isomers 2-amino pyridine (2-Py-Zn), 3- amino pyridine (3-Py-Zn) and 4-amino pyridine (4-Py-Zn). The synthesized ligands and their Zn(II) complexes have been characterized by microanalyses, FT-IR, multinuclear NMR, UV-Vis and emission spectroscopy. These newly synthesized isomeric complexes have been used as the sensitizers as well as co-sensitizers with state-of-the-art N719 dye in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Amongst all three isomeric complexes, the DSSC assembly fabricated with 4-Py-Zn/N719 dye shown best performance with an overall photon-to-current conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.52% with IPCE of 44%. The obtained co-sensitization results are better in comparison to the DSSC fabricated using only N719 (η = 4.22%; IPCE = 45%) under identical condition.