Electronic band structure of titania semiconductor nanosheets revealed by electrochemical and photoelectrochemical studies

Electrochemical and photoelectrochemical studies were conducted on self-assembled multilayer films of titania nanosheets on a conductive ITO substrate. Cyclic voltammogram (CV) curves indicated that the titania nanosheet electrode underwent insertion/extraction of Li(+) ions into/from the nanosheet galleries, associated with reduction/oxidation of Ti(4+)/Ti(3+). These processes accompanied reversible changes in UV-vis absorption of the titania nanosheet electrodes. Applying a negative bias of -1.3 V (vs Ag/Ag(+)) and lower brought about absorption reduction where the wavelength is shorter than 323 nm, and vice versa, indicating a flat-band potential of (approximately) -1.3 V and a band gap energy of 3.84 eV. Photocurrents were generated from the titania nanosheet electrodes under a positive bias. The onset potential for photocurrent generation from the titania nanosheet electrodes was around -1.27 V, and the band gap energy estimated from the photocurrent action spectra was 3.82 eV, in excellent agreement with the values obtained from the spectroelectrochemical data. The lack of difference in the band gap energies for titania nanosheet electrodes with different numbers of layers suggests that a nanosheet is electronically isolated in multilayer assemblies without affecting the electronic state of neighboring nanosheets. Similar measurements on the anatase-type TiO(2) electrode revealed that the lower edge of the conduction band for the titania nanosheet is approximately 0.1 V higher than that for anatase, while the upper edge of the valence band is 0.5 V lower.     

Photocatalytic properties of titania nanostructured films fabricated from Titania nanosheets

We examined the photochemical properties of well-ordered multilayer films of titania nanosheets prepared on quartz-glass substrate using the layer-by-layer deposition method. The photocatalytic decomposition of gaseous 2-propanol and bleaching of Methylene Blue dye under UV light illumination were measured to evaluate the photocatalytic oxidation ability. Photoinduced hydrophilicity was also studied by measuring the contact angle of water droplets on the film. The results indicated that titania nanosheets had good photoinduced hydrophilicity. The monolayer film of titania nanosheets showed almost identical activity compared with well investigated sol-gel derived anatase TiO(2) film, while its photocatalytic oxidation activity was low by more than an order of magnitude. This fact suggests that photoinduced hydrophilicity could not be explained simply in terms of the photocatalytic removal of hydrophobic organic species adsorbed on the surface. The photocatalytic oxidation activity and the photoinduced hydrophilic conversion rate decreased with increasing number of nanosheet layers, suggesting that photogenerated carriers produced in the internal part of the multilayer films can hardly diffuse to the surface layer. Photochemical properties of ultrathin anatase films obtained simply by heating the titania nanosheet films were evaluated as well, and also revealed high photoinduced hydrophilicity.     

Unusual crystallization behaviors of anatase nanocrystallites from a molecularly thin titania nanosheet and its stacked forms: increase in nucleation temperature and oriented growth

Crystallization behaviors of anatase nanocrystallites from an ultrathin two-dimensional reactant composed of exfoliated titania nanosheets have been studied by monitoring the heating process of their well-organized films, with which the film thickness can be controlled from a molecularly thin monolayer to a stacked multilayer structure with a stepwise increment of approximately 1 nm. The heated products were identified by means of total reflection fluorescence X-ray absorption near-edge structure analysis and in-plane X-ray diffraction measurements using a synchrotron radiation source. The films composed of five or more layers of stacked nanosheets were transformed into anatase at 400-500 degrees C, which is a normal crystallization temperature of anatase from bulk reactants. As the film became thinner by decreasing the number of nanosheet layers to five or less, the crystallization temperature was found to increase and finally reached 800 degrees C for the monolayer film. Interestingly, preferential growth of anatase along the c-axis was strongly promoted for these ultrathin films. These unusual behaviors may be understood in terms of crystallization from the two-dimensional system of scarcely distributed reactants. The titania nanosheet crystallite is much thinner than the unit cell dimensions of anatase, and therefore, extensive atomic diffusion is required for the transformation particularly for the ultrathin films with a critical number (2-3) of stacked nanosheet layers. There is some structural similarity between anatase and titania nanosheet, which may account for the oriented growth of anatase nanocrystallites.     

Photoinduced hydrophilic conversion properties of titania nanosheets

Photoinduced hydrophilic conversion properties of titania nanosheets were investigated. A highly hydrophilic state was achieved on the monolayer film surface of titania nanosheets, the thickness of which is less than 1 nm. The hydrophilic conversion rate (k) for the monolayer film of titania nanosheets was proportional to the intensity (I) of irradiated light, suggesting that the hydrophilic conversion of the titania nanosheet surface proceeded under light-limited conditions even with a high concentration of photoexcited carriers. As the number of layers of titania nanosheets increased, the dependence behavior changed from k proportional, variant I(1.0) to k proportional, variant I(0.5), indicating that the recombination processes become dominant in the multilayer films of titania nanosheets. In-plane X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses showed a very small but reproducible structural change of titania nanosheets upon UV irradiation.     

有机钌螯合物/TiO_2杂化膜修饰电极上Pt纳米团簇的光电流增强效应

利用LB膜技术可控制备了纳米单层和多层的二氧化钛-有机钌螯合物杂化膜,并研究了上述无机-有机杂化膜修饰电极在Pt纳米团簇敏化后的光电流增强效应.实验结果表明:(1)纳米单层TiO2/[Ru(phen)2(dC18bpy)]2+(简称为TiO2-Ru)杂化膜的平均厚度为(3.6±0.5)nm;(2)在光照条件下TiO2-Ru杂化膜能有效催化还原[Pt(NH3)6]4+形成粒径位于20～160nm之间的Pt纳米团簇;(3)Pt纳米团簇的引入消除了金属钌螯合物中配体对电子传递的阻碍作用,改变了电子传递途径,从而有效减少了电子空穴对的复合,提高了Pt纳米团簇敏化的n层杂化膜修饰电极(ITO/(TiO2-Ru)n/Pt)在支持电解质中的光电流.与纳米单层TiO2-Ru杂化膜修饰的ITO电极(ITO/TiO2-Ru)相比,当工作电压为900mV时,ITO/TiO2-Ru/Pt在0.1mol·L-1的NaClO4电解质溶液中和光照(λ360nm)条件下,单位面积的光电流提高了约5倍;(4)ITO/(TiO2-Ru)n/Pt电极光电流的大小与杂化膜的层数密切相关,当TiO2-Ru杂化膜的层数从一层、二层增加到四层时,光电流呈现先升高后下降行为,这表明ITO/(TiO2-Ru)n/Pt电极的电子传递过程直接通过非电活性的二氧化钛纳米单层进行.     

Photocatalytic decomposition of an alkylammonium cation in a Langmuir-Blodgett film of a titania nanosheet

The formation of inorganic-organic hybrid films of a titania nanosheet and an amphiphilic alkylammonium cation has been investigated, and the photocatalytic decomposition of the alkylammonium cation in the film has been pursued. When a solution of the amphiphilic alkylammonium salt (octadecylammonium chloride: ODAH+ Cl-) was spread on an interface between the air and a titania nanosheet suspension, the negatively charged nanosheets were adsorbed onto the floating monolayer of ODAH+ to form a hybrid monolayer. The hybridization was confirmed by pi-A isotherm measurements, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Multilayered films were fabricated in a layer-by-layer way by transferring the hybrid monolayers onto glass plates. Areas per ODAH+ cation in the films were estimated from the infrared (IR) spectra of the films, but these areas were smaller than those estimated from the pi-A isotherm curves. The orientation of the alkyl chain of ODAH+ in the hybrid film was determined by means of polarized IR spectroscopy. The alkyl chains were tilted 41 +/- 1 degrees and 47 +/- 1 degrees from the surface normal for the films prepared from the 8 and 20 ppm (ppm = mg dm(-3)) suspensions, respectively. Together with X-ray diffraction data of the films, the structure of the hybrid film was discussed. When the films were illuminated with a UV light, the absorption intensities due to the alkyl chain of ODAH+ decreased exponentially, indicating the photocatalytic decomposition of ODAH+ by the titania nanosheets in the films. Deviation from the exponential trend in the decomposition rate was observed in the initial period for the hybrid films prepared from the suspensions at low concentrations. Interestingly, the layered structure of the hybrid film was disturbed significantly after the ODAH+ cations were decomposed.     

Photoelectrochemical oxidation of methanol on oxide nanosheets

Photoelectrochemical oxidation of alcohol on various nanosheet electrodes such as Nb6O17, Ca2Nb3O10, Ti(0.91)O2, Ti4O9, and MnO2 system host layers were measured to evaluate the photocatalysis of water photolysis with alcohol as a sacrificial agent. The nanosheet electrodes were prepared by the layer-by-layer (LBL) method, using electrostatic principles. The highest photooxidation current density was observed in methanol solution for Nb6O17 and Ca2Nb3O10 nanosheets, while the density was lower for Ti(0.91)O2, Ti4O9, and MnO2 nanosheets in decreasing order. The rank in the photocurrent density was in agreement with that in the photocatalytic activity, which means that the degree of photooxidation of the alcohol determines the activity of the alcohol in the water photolysis process. The photocurrent was independent of the number of nanosheet layers on the electrode, indicating that only the mono-nanosheet layer attached directly on a substrate acts as a photoelectrocatalyst and that the interlayer space is not important. Consequently, higher photooxidation current on the Nb6O17 mono-nanosheet layer means that the charge separation of electron and hole under illumination is very large and that the hole-capturing process by CH3OH is very quick compared with the surface recombination on the Nb6O17 nanosheet. The adsorption of a transition metal cation on the nanosheet acted as the surface recombination center, because the photocurrent decreased after the adsorption. The photocatalytic mechanism has been discussed in detail in terms of various photoelectrochemical behaviors.     

Synthesis, anion exchange, and delamination of Co-Al layered double hydroxide: assembly of the exfoliated nanosheet/polyanion composite films and magneto-optical studies

This paper describes a systematic study on the synthesis, anion exchange, and delamination of Co-Al layered double hydroxide (LDH), with the aim of achieving fabrication and clarifying the properties of LDH nanosheet/polyanion composite films. Co-Al-CO3 LDH hexagonal platelets of 4 mum in lateral size were synthesized by the urea method under optimized reaction conditions. The as-prepared CO3(2-)-LDH was converted to Cl- -LDH by treating with a NaCl-HCl mixed solution, retaining its high crystallinity and hexagonal platelike morphology. LDHs intercalated with a variety of anions (such as NO3-, ClO4-, acetate, lactate, dodecyl sulfate, and oleate) were further prepared from Cl- -LDH via an anion-exchange process employing corresponding salts. Exchanged products in various anion forms were found to show different delamination behaviors in formamide. Among them, best results were observed for NO3- -LDH in terms of the exfoliating degree and the quality of the exfoliated nanosheets. The delamination gave a pink transparent suspension containing well-defined nanosheets with lateral sizes of up to 2 microm. The resulting nanosheets were assembled layer-by-layer with an anionic polymer, poly(sodium styrene 4-sulfonate) (PSS), onto quartz glass substrates to produce composite films. Magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) measurements revealed that the assembled multilayer films exhibited an interesting magneto-optical response.     

Sb2S3纳米粒子修饰ZnO纳米片微纳分级结构的光电化学性能

采用恒电位方法,选择氯化钾和乙二胺(EDA)为添加剂,在氧化铟锡(ITO)导电玻璃上制备了高度有序的ZnO纳米片阵列,通过二次电沉积得到了ZnO纳米片上生长纳米棒的微纳分级结构.利用化学浴沉积法在ZnO基底上沉积Sb₂S₃纳米粒子制备出了Sb₂S₃/ZnO纳米片壳核结构和Sb₂S₃/ZnO微纳分级壳核结构.利用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、X射线衍射(XRD)、紫外-可见(UV-Vis)吸收光谱、瞬态光电流等对其形貌、结构组成和光电化学性能进行了表征和分析.结果表明, Sb₂S₃/ZnO纳米片上生长纳米棒分级壳核结构的光电流明显高于Sb₂S₃/ZnO纳米片壳核结构.在Sb₂S₃/ZnO纳米片壳核结构和Sb₂S₃/ZnO微纳分级壳核结构的基础上旋涂一层P3HT薄膜形成P3HT/Sb₂S₃/ZnO复合结构,以上述复合结构薄膜为光活性层组装成杂化太阳电池,其中, P3HT/Sb₂S₃/ZnO分级壳核结构杂化太阳电池的能量转换效率最高,达到了0.81%.     

Influence of adding carbon nanotubes on photoelectric conversion properties of dye-doped titania gel

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were incorporated into amorphous dye-doped titania gel by the sol?Cgel method at room temperature. The working electrodes were prepared by coating the ITO glass with the sol?Cgel titania precursor containing the dye and MWCNTs. The photoelectric conversion properties of the electrodes were examined by simple spectroscopic and electric measurements. The photocurrent spectrum originated from the absorption of the dye. The short circuit photocurrent was enhanced by adding a small amount of MWCNTs evenly to the amorphous dye-doped titania gel. The open circuit voltage was due to the semiconducting characteristics property of the titania gel. The experimental results indicated the electron transport from the dye excited states to the MWCNTs through the titania gel. The MWCNTs functioned as bridges between the titania and ITO. Steam treatment of the titania gel electrodes significantly increased the photoelectric performance due to crystallization of the titania and enhancement of the dye?Ctitania interaction forming the chelate complex on the titania particle surface.     

Molecular optical gating devices based on polymer nanosheets assemblies

We describe here a polymer nanosheet assembly that serves as a molecular photoswitching and optical exclusive OR (EXOR) logic gate. Separate polymer nanosheets (monolayers) containing phenanthrene, anthracene, and dinitrobenzene chromophore were prepared by the Langmuir-Blodgett technique (LB films). A bilayer-couple, consisting of phenanthrene (sensitizer) monolayer and dinitrobenzene (acceptor) monolayer, and the other couple, of anthracene monolayer and dinitrobenzene monolayer, were confirmed to function as a photodiode showing current rectification on light irradiation. The two photodiodes are connected as each photocurrent direction becomes opposite. In the polymer photodiode array (LB films), anodic photocurrent was observed when the anthracene was selectively excited. On the other hand, cathodic photocurrent was observed by selective excitation of the phenanthrene. Moreover, the output photocurrent displayed a very small value when the phenanthrene and anthracene were excited simultaneously. The performance is discussed for this gate's application to an optical EXOR logic gate.     

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。     

Self-assembled graphene/azo polyelectrolyte multilayer film and its application in electrochemical energy storage device

Graphene/azo polyelectrolyte multilayer films were fabricated through electrostatic layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly, and their performance as electrochemical capacitor electrode was investigated. Cationic azo polyelectrolyte (QP4VP-co-PCN) was synthesized through radical polymerization, postpolymerization azo coupling reaction, and quaternization. Negatively charged graphene nanosheets were prepared by a chemically modified method. The LbL films were obtained by alternately dipping a piece of the pretreated substrates in the QP4VP-co-PCN and nanosheet solutions. The processes were repeated until the films with required numbers of bilayers were obtained. The self-assembly and multilayer surface morphology were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, AFM, SEM, and TEM. The performance of the LbL films as electrochemical capacitor electrode was estimated using cyclic voltammetry. Results show that the graphene nanosheets are densely packed in the multilayers and form random graphene network. The azo polyelectrolyte cohesively interacts with the nanosheets in the multilayer structure, which prevents agglomeration of graphene nanosheets. The sheet resistance of the LbL films decreases with the increase of the layer numbers and reaches the stationary value of 1.0 × 10(6) Ω/square for the film with 15 bilayers. At a scanning rate of 50 mV/s, the LbL film with 9 bilayers shows a gravimetric specific capacitance of 49 F/g in 1.0 M Na(2)SO(4) solution. The LbL films developed in this work could be a promising type of the electrode materials for electric energy storage devices.     

A novel tungsten trioxide (WO3)/ITO porous nanocomposite for enhanced photo-catalytic water splitting

Hybrid nanocomposite films of ITO-coated, self-assembled porous nanostructures of tungsten trioxide (WO(3)) were fabricated using electrochemical anodization and sputtering. The morphology and chemical nature of the porous nanostructures were studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties of WO(3) porous nanostructures were studied in various alkaline electrolytes and compared with those of titania nanotubes. A new type of alkaline electrolyte containing a mixture of NaOH and KOH was proposed for the first time to the best of our knowledge and shown to improve the photocurrent response of the photoanodes. Here, we show that both the WO(3) nanostructures and titania nanotubes (used for comparison) exhibit superior photocurrent response in the mixture of NaOH and KOH than in other alkaline electrolytes. The WO(3) porous nanostructures suffered from surface corrosion resulting in a huge reduction in the photocurrent density as a function of time in the alkaline electrolytes. However, with a protective coating of ITO (100 nm), the surface corrosion of WO(3) porous nanostructures reduced drastically. A tremendous increase in the photocurrent density of as much as 340% was observed after the ITO was applied to the WO(3) porous nanostructures. The results suggest that the hybrid ITO/WO(3) nanocomposites could be potentially coupled with titania nanotubes in a multi-junction PEC cell to expand the light absorption capability in the solar spectrum for water splitting to generate hydrogen.     

Layered inorganic-organic frameworks based on the 2,2-dimethylsuccinate ligand: structural diversity and its effect on nanosheet exfoliation and magnetic properties

The structures of four new 2,2-dimethylsuccinate frameworks suitable for exfoliation into nanosheets using ultrasonication are reported. These hybrid compounds contain either monovalent (Li(+)) or divalent (Co(2+) and Zn(2+)) cations, and they all feature hydrophobically capped covalently bonded layers that only interact with each other via weak van der Waals forces. Critically this shows that the use of this dicarboxylate ligand generally yields two dimensional compounds suitable for simple and affordable nanosheet exfoliation. This extends the range of frameworks that can be exfoliated and highlights the 2,2-dimethylsuccinate ligand as an excellent versatile platform for the production of nanosheets. The topologies of the layers in each framework were found to vary significantly and this appears to have a significant effect on the relative size of the nanosheets produced; increased space between methyl groups and more extensive inorganic connectivity appears to favour the formation of thin nanosheets with larger lateral dimensions. Additionally the magnetic properties of two of these frameworks were examined, and it was found that both exhibit strong low dimensional antiferromagnetic coupling despite their well-separated layers preventing three dimensional magnetic order.     

Photoresponsive Molecular Memory Films Composed of Sequentially Assembled Heterolayers Containing Ruthenium Complexes

Photoresponsive molecular memory films were fabricated by a layer‐by‐layer (LbL) assembling of two dinuclear Ru complexes with tetrapodal phosphonate anchors, containing either 2,3,5,6‐tetra(2‐pyridyl)pyrazine or 1,2,4,5‐tetra(2‐pyridyl)benzene as a bridging ligand (Ru‐NP and Ru‐CP, respectively), using zirconium phosphonate to link the layers. Various types of multilayer homo‐ and heterostructures were constructed. In the multilayer heterofilms such as ITO||(Ru‐NP)_m|(Ru‐CP)_n, the difference in redox potentials between Ru‐NP and Ru‐CP layers was approximately 0.7 V, which induced a potential gradient determined by the sequence of the layers. In the ITO||(Ru‐NP)_m|(Ru‐CP)_n multilayer heterofilms, the direct electron transfer (ET) from the outer Ru‐CP layers to the ITO were observed to be blocked for m>2, and charge trapping in the outer Ru‐CP layers became evident from the appearance of an intervalence charge transfer (IVCT) band at 1140 nm from the formation of the mixed‐valent state of Ru‐CP units, resulting from the reductive ET mediation of the inner Ru‐NP layers. Therefore, the charging/discharging (“1”and “0”) states in the outer Ru‐CP layers could be addressed and interconverted by applying potential pulses between ?0.5 and +0.7 V. The two states could be read out by the direction of the photocurrent (anodic or cathodic). The molecular heterolayer films thus represent a typical example of a photoresponsive memory device; that is, the writing process may be achieved by the applied potential (?0.5 or +0.7 V), while the readout process is achieved by measuring the direction of the photocurrent (anodic or cathodic). Sequence‐sensitive multilayer heterofilms, using redox‐active complexes as building blocks, thus demonstrate great potential for the design of molecular functional devices.     

Liquid crystalline nanosheet colloids with controlled particle size obtained by exfoliating single crystal of layered niobate k(4)nb(6)o(17)

Colloidally dispersed niobate nanosheets with the thickness of 1.8 nm and controlled mean lateral sizes of 0.15-7.8 mum were prepared and their liquid crystallinity was examined. The nanosheet colloids with different lateral sizes were obtained by exfoliation of single crystals of layered niobate K4Nb6O17 and subsequent ultrasonication. Naked-eye and microscope observations of the nanosheet colloids between crossed polarizers revealed liquid crystallinity of the sols characterized by birefringence as functions of the lateral sizes and concentration of the nanosheets. The nanosheet colloids with smaller lateral sizes (0.15-1.9 mum) varied from isotropic to biphasic (isotropic + liquid crystalline), and finally to fully liquid crystalline states as the colloid concentration increased. The phase transition concentrations (from isotropic to biphasic and biphasic to liquid crystalline) decreased with increasing aspect ratio (lateral-to-thickness ratio) of the nanosheets, almost in accordance with the prediction by Onsager theory, indicating that the liquid crystallinity is explained basically by excluded-volume effect between the nanosheets. On the other hand, the colloids with larger lateral sizes (6.2 and 7.8 mum) stably kept liquid crystalline state even at very low concentration (5.1 x 10-6 in volume fraction), which was much lower than that expected from the theory.     

Preparation of Titania Nanosheet-Precipitated Coatings on Glass Substrates by Treating SiO2-TiO2 Gel Films with Hot Water Under Vibrations

Titania nanosheet-precipitated coatings have been prepared by treating SiO₂-TiO₂ gel films on glass substrates with hot water at 90°C under vibration. Longitudinal vibrations at about 6 Hz during the treatment enhanced the formation of titania nanosheet. The titania nanosheet consisted of several layers with a spacing of about 0.6 nm and was identified as hydrated titania with a lepidocrocite-type structure. The morphology of the titania nanosheet-precipitated coatings is probably achieved by lowering of the concentration of hydrolyzed titania species at the surface due to rapid water flow driven by the vibrations. The coatings were transparent in the visible range and showed high photocatalytic activity and antifogging property.     

6AZO-CONTAINING SELF-ASSEMBLY ULTRA-THIN FILMS AND THEIR PHOTOVOLTAIC PROPERTIES

A kind of azo-containing resin (Azo-R) was synthesized by a simple way through the coupling reaction of 2-nitro-N-methyldiphenylamine-4-diazoresin (NDR) with phenol, and a new covalentely attached multilayer film from Azo-R as H-donor and photosensitive diazoresin, diphenylamine-4-diazoresin (DR) as H-acceptor via H-bonding attraction by selfassembly technique has been fabricated. Following the decomposition of diazonium group of DR under exposure to UV light, the H-bonds between the layers of the film convert to covalent bonds and the film becomes very stable toward polar solvents or electrolyte aqueous solutions. Thus the UV-irradiated azo-containing films can be used to measure photocurrent in a conventional three-electrode photoelectrochemical cell using KCl as supporting electrolyte. It was confirmed that the azo-containing multilayer film is responsible for the photocurrent generation.     

Self-assembled film of poly(4-carboxyphenyl)acetylene and diazoresin and its photoelectric conversion property

A novel multilayer film was assembled from water-soluble poly(4-carboxyphenyl)acetylene sodium salt (PCPA) and diazoresin (DR) in aqueous solution via electrostatic attraction. Under UV irradiation, following the decomposition of the diazonium group between the adjacent interfaces of the multilayers, the ionic bonds of the self-assembled film convert to covalent bonds and the film becomes very stable toward electrolyte aqueous solutions. Thus, the photoelectric conversion property of PCPA-containing film can be measured in a conventional three-electrode photoelectrochemical cell, and 0.5 mol/l KCl solution can be used as the supporting electrolyte. The photocurrent spectroscopy response coincides with the absorption spectrum of the irradiated self-assembled film, which indicates that the irradiated DR/PCPA film is responsible for the photocurrent generation.