Photocurrent generation in heterostructured ultrathin films fabricated by layer-by-layer deposition of polyelectrolytes bearing tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) and ferrocene moieties

The photoelectrochemical properties of single-component and heterostructured layer-by-layer deposited films bearing tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) (Ru) moieties were investigated by photocurrent measurements in solutions in the presence of sacrificial reagents. The photocurrent increased with an increase in the thickness of the films and then had a maximum at a thickness of 10 nm. This increase demonstrates a light-harvesting effect based on excitation energy migration among the Ru moieties to the film/electrolyte interface. A cathodic photocurrent was observed for a heterostructured film where bilayers bearing ferrocene (Fc) moieties and bilayers bearing Ru moieties were deposited on an indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate in the order (ITO/Fc/Ru). On the other hand, an anodic photocurrent was observed for the reverse order film (ITO/Ru/Fc). These results show that the direction of the photocurrent is determined by the gradient of the redox potentials formed in the heterostructured films. The internal quantum efficiency for the ITO/Ru/Fc film was twice that for the single-component film (ITO/Ru). This enhancement of the quantum efficiency is due to suppression of charge recombination by successive electron transfers in the heterostructured film.     

ITO基底上ZnO薄膜的制备以及刻蚀图形的扫描电化学显微镜表征

在氧化铟锡(ITO)导电玻璃的衬底上,利用直接电沉积方法制备了ZnO纳米线或ZnO薄膜.然后利用存储有HCI刻蚀剂的琼脂糖微图案印章对其进行了化学刻蚀以形成不同的图形.利用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、X射线衍射(XRD)和扫描电化学显微镜(SECM)分别对ITO衬底上的ZnO薄膜的结构、形貌和电化学性质进行表征.     

纳米银粒子在氨基注入氧化铟锡玻璃基体表面的高密度吸附

研究了纳米银（AgNPs）在氨基注入氧化铟锡（ITO）薄膜表面的吸附.通过氨基注入的疗法得到了氨基功能化的ITO表面（NH₂/ITO）,并将纳米银直接吸附在NH₂/ITO上得到纳米银修饰NH₂/ITO基体（AgNPs/NH₂/ITO）.使用傅里叶红外光谱、X射线光电子能谱、原子力显微镜、扫描电镜、紫外可见光谱和电化学方法对AgNPs/NH₂/ITO制备过程进行了表征.结果显示纳米银可在NH₂/ITO表面高密度地吸附,并且纳米银有良好的电化学活性.这种不借助于有机连接分子吸附纳米银的方法为制备纳米银修饰材料提供了新的选择.     

Heavy phosphate adsorption on amorphous ITO film electrodes: nano-barrier effect for highly selective exclusion of anionic species

We prepared an amorphous indium tin oxide (ITO) film and studied it with respect to its surface characterization and the effect of phosphate adsorption on its electrochemical properties. The film was deposited using RF sputtering under ambient low-oxygen conditions at room temperature. The XPS results revealed that the amount of phosphate adsorbed on the amorphous ITO film was more than 4.6 times greater than that adsorbed on commercially available polycrystalline ITO film in spite of the smaller microscopic surface area of the former. Electrochemical responses for anionic species such as L-ascorbic acid (AA) and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) on the phosphate-adsorbed ITO film electrodes were more effectively suppressed at the amorphous ITO film electrode than at the polycrystalline ITO film electrode when a phosphate-containing electrolyte was used. Such suppression could be attributed to the electrostatic repulsion between the anionic species and more heavily adsorbed phosphate on our amorphous ITO film electrode surface. This effect is made more pronounced by increasing the phosphate concentration to 1 mM. With 1 mM phosphate, the amorphous ITO film electrode showed the highest selectivity for dopamine (DA) against the anionic species, namely, 880 for DA/AA and 330 for DA/DOPAC, respectively. In contrast, the selectivity was 120 for DA/AA and 20 for DA/DOPAC with the polycrystalline ITO film electrode.     

二氧化钛纳米膜电极的形貌和光电化学性质

采用两种不同粒度的国产TiO2纳米材料和进口TiO2P25粉末,以涂覆法分别在导电玻璃基底上制备出TiO2纳米膜电极.通过循环伏安、瞬态光电流时间谱,结合SEM、DRS、XRD等实验手段,分析比较了三种TiO2膜电极的形貌和光电化学性质,探讨了提高和改善电极性能的途径.     

Photoelectrochemical properties of alternating multilayer films composed of titania nanosheets and Zn porphyrin

Alternating multilayer films composed of titania nanosheets and Zn porphyrins were prepared by use of a previously reported Langmuir-Blodgett film-transfer method in order to fabricate photoelectrochemical devices. Closely packed titania nanosheet monolayers on indium tin oxide (ITO), mica, and quartz surfaces strongly adsorbed cationic [5,10,15,20-tetrakis(1-methylpyridinium-4-yl)porphyrinatozinc]4+ (ZnTMPyP4+) by electrostatic interactions. The alternating deposition process afforded nanometer-scale multilayer films with the following structure: solid surface/(titania nanosheet/ZnTMPyP4+)n (n is the number of layers). The multilayer films were characterized by various physical measurements, including AFM, XRD, and UV-visible spectra. The visible-light irradiation of this multilayer film on an ITO electrode in the presence of triethanolamine as an electron donor yielded an anodic photocurrent. The action spectrum was consistent with the absorption spectrum of ZnTMPyP4+, which indicates that the photoexcitation of ZnTMPyP4+ is responsible for the photocurrent generation. However, the photocurrent density decreased with an increasing number of layers, which indicates that the harvesting of photoexcited electrons vertically through the titania nanosheets in the ITO/(titania nanosheet/ZnTMPyP4+)n structure was not efficient. To overcome this problem, the use of a lateral interlayer connection to all of the titania nanosheets with Ag paste was examined. As a result, a dramatic improvement in the photocurrent density was obtained. Thus, for efficient photocurrent generation with the titania nanosheet-ZnTMPyP4+ composite material, the lateral connection to all of the titania nanosheet layers is effective.     

Liquid crystal-gold nanoparticle composite-modified indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates and their electrochemical characterisation

A simple efficient strategy for the simultaneous synthesis and anchoring of liquid crystal (LC)-stabilised gold nanoparticles (NPs) on indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate is described. A monolayer of 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxy silane (MPS) compound was formed on ITO and quality of the monolayer was assessed using electrochemical techniques namely cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Gold NP preparation was carried out on this monolayer-modified substrate (and on bare ITO), in a single-step reaction, simply by drop-casting a solution containing an appropriate amount of chloroauric acid and a LC compound possessing a terminal amino group, on the MPS monolayer-modified substrate and heating (70degree) for 2-3 min.. The LC compound served as a reducing agent as well as a capping ligand. LC-capped NPs were chemically anchored onto the ITO substrate through bonding to thiol moiety of the MPS. The CV and EIS analysis of the MPS monolayer showed a complete blocking behaviour for the electron transfer across the electrode/electrolyte interface confirming the formation of a high-quality dense compact monolayer. On the other hand, upon immobilisation of LC-gold NP composite on self-assembled monolayer-modified ITO substrates, both CV and impedance studies showed a small current indicating the gold NP-mediated electron transfer, thus confirming the successful immobilisation of NPs.     

TiO_2-CuPcTs敏化薄膜光电流及可见光光催化性能

以四磺酸酞菁铜(CuPcTs)为敏化剂,玻璃和图案化的氧化铟锡(ITO)分别作为基底,制备了敏化薄膜TiO2-CuPcTs和ITO/TiO2-CuPcTs/ITO敏化器件.以罗丹明B(RhB)的可见光光催化降解为模型反应评价敏化薄膜的光催化性能.敏化薄膜采用UV-vis和Raman技术进行表征,同时利用敏化器件的结构特性,测定其在氮气和纯水体系下的光电流.研究结果表明,TiO2-CuPcTs可以有效地将光谱响应拓宽到可见光区,一级反应速率常数为空白TiO2薄膜的3.7倍.TiO2-CuPcTs薄膜光催化降解RhB的重复性能稳定.与ITO/TiO2/ITO器件相比,敏化器件ITO/TiO2-CuPcTs/ITO具有较高的光电流信号,验证了激发态的CuPcTs能够将电子转移到TiO导带上的敏化机理.     

电泳沉积法制备V2O5薄膜的结构和性能

V2O5 thin films were successfully prepared on ITO substrate with electrophoresis deposition (EDP) through V2O5 sol. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were used for studying the structure of the films. The optical and electrochemical properties were measured by the transmittance spectra and cyclic voltammetry measurements, respectively. It is found that V2O5 thin films deposited by EDP are a compact microstructure with finer adhesive force with ITO substrate and the thickness is uniform. During the cycle experiment, the films exhibited reversible two-color (yellow at oxidation and green at reduction) with a maximum transmittance change of around 30%. Moreover, the films had an excellent cycle for lithium intercalation/deintercalation and good cycle stability, the cycle efficiency for the 50th cycle was 88.02% and the films still had fine adhesive force with ITO substrate with no dissolving over more than 50 cycles. The Li+ diffusion coefficient in V2O5 thin film was 5.10×10-12 cm2/s by the electrochemical impedance spectra method. All results indicate that V2O5 thin films by the electrophoresis deposition may be suitable for the use in the electrochromic devices.     

基于过渡金属离子与三联吡啶的配位作用构筑全共轭层-层 自组装超薄功能膜

本文利用所合成的4'-（4''-重氮基）苯基-（2,2':6',2'）-三联吡啶氟硼酸盐（Diazo-tpy）在紫外光照射下的光分解反应特性,实现三联吡啶基团与基片之间形成共轭价键连接,这不仅提高了自组装膜的稳定性,而且降低了载流子在两者之间传输时的阻抗;在此基础上,通过两端含三联吡啶的直线型配体1,4-二-(2,2':6',2'-三联吡啶)基苯（Bi-tpy）与四种过渡金属离子（Mtn+：Pt4+、Ru3+、Rh3+、Pd2+）之间的配位作用,通过层－层自组装制备了全共轭金属－有机自组装超薄功能膜。由紫外-可见光谱跟踪自组装过程证明了自组装过程的成功实现,还分析了金属离子的种类对自组装的影响规律。光电转换测试表明Bi-tpy/Ru3+自组装膜要比Bi-tpy/ Pt4+具有更明显的光电转换性能;同时,由于缺陷与阻抗随层数的增加而增大的原因,在自组装6层时光电流达到最大值。这为我们设计新型光电转换器件提供参考依据。     

乙醇对双核酞菁钴掺杂聚苯胺膜修饰电极特性的影响

研究了乙醇对双核酞菁钴(b i-CoPc)掺杂聚苯胺(PAn)膜修饰电极特性的影响。用循环伏安法(CV)考察了乙醇浓度不同时,玻碳电极(GC)上双核酞菁钴掺杂聚苯胺的电聚合过程,用紫外-可见吸收光谱(UV-V is)、红外光谱(FTIR)和扫描电子显微镜(SEM)表征了在氧化铟锡玻璃(ITO)电极上b i-CoPc掺杂的PAn膜,研究了乙醇对膜以及该膜修饰电极对溶液中分子氧电催化性能的影响。结果表明,乙醇对苯胺的电聚合有促进作用,有助于增加b i-CoPc掺杂量,膜的光谱特性发生变化,表面形貌更加均匀。乙醇存在下制备的修饰电极对溶液中分子氧的电催化活性明显提高。当乙醇含量为10%时,制备的电极催化能力最强。     

可见光响应Bi2WO6薄膜的制备与光电化学性能

采用非晶态配合物-提拉法在ITO导电玻璃基底上制备得到Bi2WO6薄膜. 采用FE-SEM、XRD、Raman、DRS、光电流响应谱、IPCE等手段, 研究了Bi2WO6薄膜的形貌、结构、光电性能以及薄膜结构与光电性能的关系. 结果表明, 450 ℃以上煅烧可以得到Bi2WO6结晶薄膜, 薄膜由沿(131)晶面趋向生长的Bi2WO6纳米颗粒组成, 颗粒的粒度随煅烧温度的升高而增大, 同时颗粒之间的间距也相应增大. ITO/Bi2WO6薄膜电极在可见光(λ>400 nm)照射下可以产生光电流, 光电流强度与光强度线性相关; 光电流强度和光电转换量子效率受Bi2WO6薄膜结构的影响, 通过控制薄膜的煅烧温度等制备条件, 可以提高薄膜光电极的光电转换量子效率.     

The effect of an atomically deposited layer of alumina on NiO in P-type dye-sensitized solar cells

We present a systematic investigation of the fundamental effects of an atomically deposited alumina (AlO(x)H(y)) onto the NiO films in p-type dye-sensitized solar cells (p-DSCs). With P1 as the sensitizing dye and 0.1 M I(2) and 1.0 M LiI in 3-methoxypropionitrile as the electrolyte, one atomic layer deposition (ALD) cycle of alumina was used to achieve a 74% increase in the overall conversion efficiency of a NiO-based DSC. The open circuit voltage of the cells increased from 0.11 to 0.15 V, and the short circuit current density increased from 0.83 to 0.95 mA/cm(2). Adsorption isotherm studies were performed to show that the amount of dye adsorbed on the NiO-alumina film is slightly lower than the amount adsorbed on the nontreated NiO film. The increased J(sc) was therefore assigned to the increased efficiency of carrier collection at the semiconductor-FTO interface. Our study of the photocurrent onset potentials of NiO and NiO-alumina films with the chopped light measurement technique showed no definitive difference in the onset potential values. However, the DSCs based on NiO-alumina showed a higher recombination resistance value from the electrochemical impedance studies and a higher diode ideality factor from the V(oc) versus ln(light intensity) plots as compared to the DSCs based on untreated NiO. It has thus been established that the increase in V(oc) upon alumina treatment arises due to a higher resistance for electron-hole recombination across NiO surface locally.     

Simple chemical route for nanorod-like cobalt oxide films for electrochemical energy storage applications

We used a simple chemical synthesis route to deposit nanorod-like cobalt oxide thin films on different substrates such as stainless steel (ss), indium tin oxide (ITO), and microscopic glass slides. The morphology of the films show that the films were uniformly spread having a nanorod-like structure with the length of the nanorods shortened on ss substrates. The electrochemical properties of the films deposited at different time intervals were studied using cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge–discharge (GCD), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The film deposited after 20 cycles on ss gave the highest specific capacity of 67.6 mAh g^?1 and volumetric capacity of 123 mAh cm^?3 at a scan rate 5 mV s^?1 in comparison to 62.0 mAh g^?1 and 113 mAh cm^?3 obtained, respectively, for its counterpart on ITO. The film electrode deposited after 20 cycles on ITO gave the best rate capability and excellent cyclability with no depreciation after 2000 charge–discharge cycles.     

Carboxyphenyl metalloporphyrins as photosensitizers of semiconductor film electrodes. A study of the effect of different central metals

Free-base (P), Zn(II) (P(Zn)), Cu(II) (P(Cu)), Pd(II) (P(Pd)), Ni(II) (P(Ni)), and Co(II) (P(Co)) 5-(4-carboxyphenyl)-10,15,20-tris(4-methylphenyl) porphyrins were designed and synthesized to be employed as spectral senzitizers in photoelectrochemical cells. The dyes were studied adsorbed on SnO(2) nanocrystalline semiconductor and also in Langmuir-Blodgett film ITO electrodes in order to disclose the effect of molecular packing on the studied properties. Electron injection yields were obtained by fluorescence quenching analysis comparing with the dyes adsorbed on a SiO(2) nanocrystalline insulator. Back electron-transfer kinetics were measured by using laser flash photolysis. The unmetallized and metallized molecules have different singlet state energies, fluorescence quantum yields, and redox properties. The quantum yields of sensitized photocurrent generation are shown to be highly dependent on the identity of the central metal. It is shown that P(Ni) and P(Co) do not present a photoelectric effect. The other porhyrins present reproducible photocurrent, P(Pd) being the one that gives the highest quantum yield even in closely packet ITO/LB films. Photocurrent quantum yields increase as the dye ground-state oxidation potential becomes more anodic, which is in agreement with the observation, obtained by laser flash photolysis, that back electron-transfer kinetics decrease with the increase in the driving force for the recombination process. This effect could be exploited as a design element in the development of new and better sensitizers for high-efficiency solar cells involving porphyrins and related dyes.     

TiO2表面氧空位对Rup2P/TiO2/ITO薄膜电极光致电荷转移的影响

采用改性的TiCl4水解法制备出三种不同表面性质的TiO2-X(X=5,10,20,X表示加入NaOH的浓度,单位为mo·lL-1)样品.利用(1,10-邻菲咯啉)2-2-(2-吡啶基)苯咪唑钌混配配合物(Rup2P)作为敏化剂,制备出Rup2P/TiO2-5/ITO(铟锡金属氧化物)、Rup2P/TiO2-10/ITO和Rup2P/TiO2-20/ITO表面敏化薄膜电极.测试结果表明三种薄膜电极的光电转换效率Rup2P/TiO2-10/ITO最高,Rup2P/TiO2-20/ITO次之,Rup2P/TiO2-5/ITO最低.利用吸收光谱、表面光电压(SP)谱、荧光光谱和表面光电流作用谱等分析了Rup2P和三种TiO2的能带结构和表面性质;利用光致循环伏安和表面光电流作用谱研究了三种Rup2P/TiO2-X/ITO薄膜电极的光致界面电荷转移过程.结果表明,在光致界面电荷转移过程中,TiO2层表面氧空位对Rup2P/TiO2-X/ITO薄膜电极光致电荷转移产生重要影响.并进一步讨论了Rup2P/TiO2-X/ITO薄膜电极的光电流产生机理.     

Unraveling the mechanism of catalytic reduction of O2 by microperoxidase-11 adsorbed within a transparent 3D-nanoporous ITO film

Nanoporous films of indium tin oxide (ITO), with thicknesses ranging from 250 nm to 2 μm, were prepared by Glancing Angle Deposition (GLAD) and used as highly sensitive transparent 3D-electrodes for quantitatively interrogating, by time-resolved spectroelectrochemistry, the reactivity of microperoxidase-11 (MP-11) adsorbed within such films. The capacitive current densities of these 3D-electrodes as well as the amount of adsorbed MP-11 were shown to be linearly correlated to the GLAD ITO film thickness, indicating a homogeneous distribution of MP-11 across the film as well as homogeneous film porosity. Under saturating adsorption conditions, MP-11 film concentration as high as 60 mM was reached. This is equivalent to a stack of 110 monolayers of MP-11 per micrometer film thickness. This high MP-11 film loading combined with the excellent ITO film conductivity has allowed the simultaneous characterization of the heterogeneous one-electron transfer dynamics of the MP-11 Fe(III)/Fe(II) redox couple by cyclic voltammetry and cyclic voltabsorptometry, up to a scan rate of few volts per second with a satisfactory single-scan signal-to-noise ratio. The potency of the method to unravel complex redox coupled chemical reactions was also demonstrated with the catalytic reduction of oxygen by MP-11. In the presence of O(2), cross-correlation of electrochemical and spectroscopic data has allowed us to determine the key kinetics and thermodynamics parameters of the redox catalysis that otherwise could not be easily extracted using conventional protein film voltammetry. On the basis of numerical simulations of cyclic voltammograms and voltabsorptograms and within the framework of different plausible catalytic reaction schemes including appropriate approximations, it was shown possible to discriminate between different possible catalytic pathways and to identify the relevant catalytic cycle. In addition, from the best fits of simulations to the experimental voltammograms and voltabsorptograms, the partition coefficient of O(2) for the ITO film as well as the values of two kinetic rate constants could be extracted. It was finally concluded that the catalytic reduction of O(2) by MP-11 adsorbed within nanoporous ITO films occurs via a 2-electron mechanism with the formation of an intermediate Fe(III)-OOH adduct characterized by a decay rate of 11 s(-1). The spectroelectroanalytical strategy presented here opens new opportunities for characterizing complex redox-coupled chemical reactions not only with redox proteins, but also with redox biomimetic systems and catalysts. It might also be of great interest for the development and optimization of new spectroelectrochemical sensors and biosensors, or eventually new photoelectrocatalytic systems or biofuel cells.     

Cyclic Voltammetrically‐Prepared MnO2 Coated on an ITO Glass Substrate

For the first time, nanostructured manganese dioxide was successfully electrodeposited onto an ITO (indium tin oxide) glass substrate by cyclic voltammetry (CV) method from an aqueous solution of 0.1 M Na₂SO₄ containing 5 × 10⁻³ M MnSO₄. The obtained manganese dioxide‐modified ITO glass substrates were characterized by energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. All results not only proved the existence of MnO₂ on an ITO glass substrate but also demonstrated that the morphology of the obtained MnO₂ was greatly affected by the electrodeposition conditions. Also, this MnO₂‐modified ITO electrode was systematically investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronopotentiometry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in an aqueous electrolyte of 0.1 M Na₂SO₄. The results obtained from electrochemical measurement indicated that this developed MnO₂‐modified ITO electrode has a satisfied specific capacitance value of 264 F·g⁻¹ and exhibits excellent electrochemical stability and reversibility.     

自掺杂基团对聚苯胺自组装膜电化学性能的影响

基于离子相互作用,实现了以聚苯胺(PANI)为聚阳离子,以聚(邻氨基苯甲酸)(PCAN)、聚(邻氨基苯磺酸)(PSAN)为聚阴离子的层-层自组装,形成层厚均匀的全共轭超薄功能膜.由于磺酸基—SO3-的电负性高于—COO-,使得PANI-PSAN自组装膜沉积量小于PANI-PCAN;电化学实验结果显示,由于PCAN和PSAN的导电性均弱于PANI,所以两种自组装膜的电化学性能取决于PANI,但同时受到羧酸、磺酸基团的较大影响,使得PANI-PCAN自组装膜的电化学性能要优于PANI-PSAN.     

Photocurrent generation in layer-by-layer assembled dendrimers with ruthenium tris-bipyridine peripheral groups and a viologen-like core

The photophysical and photoelectrochemical properties of first- and second-generation dendrimers with ruthenium tris-bipyridine peripheral groups and a tri-viologen like core (Ru3V3 and Ru6V3) were investigated in solution and when embedded within assembled films. The stepwise assembly of these dendrimers on quartz and ITO surfaces utilizing the layer-by-layer approach was investigated. The amount of the assembled dendrimers was found to increase on going to the higher generation dendrimer. This dendrimer generation effect was evident from the UV-vis, atomic force microscopy, and electrochemical measurements of the dendrimers in either solution phase or when embedded in films. The anodic and cathodic photocurrent generation was seen upon visible light irradiation, with higher photocurrents for Ru6V3 than Ru3V3. This observation was attributed to better light-harvesting properties, thicker films, and slower charge recombination processes in Ru6V3 when compared to Ru3V3.