Unlocking the UV-absorbing performance of zinc salicylate complex for dye-sensitized solar cells protection: A computational and experimental study

The large-scale application of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) faces several challenges, primarily due to the degradation caused by the UV radiation. This degradation results in decreased stability and lower energy conversion efficiency. Due to its geographical location, Indonesia receives high levels of UV rays throughout the year, making it crucial to prevent degradation of DSSC cells.This study successfully explored a novel potential of zinc salicylate complex as a UV absorber material with superior characteristics and more eco-friendly than current materials. The complex formation, characteristics, performance, and mechanism of zinc salicylate as a UV absorber were investigated through experimental and computational studies. The findings indicate that both intraligand charge transfer (ILCT) and ligand-ligand charge transfer (LLCT) significantly influenced the UV-absorbing capacity of the zinc salicylate complex than the HOMO LUMO gap. Higher concentration of the metal complex enhances UV absorption ability while maintaining effective visible light transmission. The UV protection mechanism involves a fluorescence phenomenon, which transforms absorbed UV light into visible light that contributes to electricity generation in DSSCs • The synthesisof zinc salicylate complex has been successfully investigated experimentally and computationally. • The ability of zinc salicylate complex to absorb UV is highly influenced by the ILCT and LLCT than the HOMO-LUMO gap. • The concentration of zinc salicylate complex strongly affects its UV-absorbing and visible-light transmission properties. • The zinc salicylate complex can absorb over 40% of UVA and more than 90% of UVB and UVC. • The zinc salicylate complex effectively protects DSSC cells through a fluorescence mechanism.