Fe(II) and Cu(I) charge transfer chromophores have the ability to solve the abundance problem associated with the use of Ru(II) in dye-sensitized solar cells. The use of molecular design can help bridge the gap in the performance for these more earth abundant alternatives. Previous work has highlighted the necessity of maximizing ligand field strength along with the avoidance of vibronic coupling to prevent the deactivation of MLCT excited states in Fe(II) compounds. Building upon this, this dissertation discusses the experimental and theoretical investigations into new design strategies for the charge transfer chromophores in a manner that is orthogonal to property maximization.
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