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We herein report the synthesis, UV–vis absorption, fluorescence emission, and redox properties of three novel meso-diphenylbacteriochlorins. Significantly, we show that substituents at the meso-positions of an air-stable bacteriochlorin can be manipulated for the first time. With proper design, this allows tailor-made bacteriochlorins to exhibit suitable properties for a chosen application. As an example, photovoltaic properties of two such bacteriochlorins in dye-sensitized solar cells are investigated. The results show that the bacteriochlorin dyes outperform a reference porphyrin dye. Intriguingly, the anodes sensitized with the new dyes display rare colors—blue and pink.

A series of anthracene-based organic dyes were prepared via cost-effective synthetic procedures for dye-sensitized cell application. UV–visible and fluorescent spectra, electrochemical properties, and photovoltaic performance of the dyes were studied. Under one sun (100 mW/cm2), the AN-3 small cell outperforms others in the series. Under a dim light condition, the AN-3 modules showed PCE comparable to that of the Z907 modules. After optimizing the synthetic procedure, we found that AN-3 can be manufactured at a fairly low price.

Indoor utilization of emerging photovoltaics is promising; however, efficiency characterization under room lighting is challenging. We report the first round-robin interlaboratory study of performance measurement for dye-sensitized photovoltaics (cells and mini-modules) and one silicon solar cell under a fluorescent dim light. Among 15 research groups, the relative deviation in power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the samples reaches an unprecedented 152%. On the basis of the comprehensive results, the gap between photometry and radiometry measurements and the response of devices to the dim illumination are identified as critical obstacles to the correct PCE. Therefore, we use an illuminometer as a prime standard with a spectroradiometer to quantify the intensity of indoor lighting and adopt the reverse-biased current-voltage (I-V) characteristics as an indicator to qualify the I-V sampling time for dye-sensitized photovoltaics. The recommendations can brighten the prospects of emerging photovoltaics for indoor applications.