Macrocyclic triphenylamine based organic dyes for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells

A novel class of organic D-π-A dyes employing macrocyclic triphenylamine dimer as electron donor was designed and synthesized for dye-sensitized solar cells. The prepared compounds showed high chemical and elelctrochemical stabilities as well as good long-wave absorption. Photovoltaic devices based on these dyes showed high open circuit voltage (higher than that of N3) and achieved a solar energy to electricity conversion efficiency of 6.31%. All the performances indicate the dyes containing macrocyclic triphenylamine dimer is a good candidate for dyes sensitized solar cells.     

Excited-state dynamics of organic dyes at liquid/liquid interfaces

Liquid/liquid interfaces play a crucial role in numerous areas of science. However, direct spectroscopic access to this thin (～1 nm) region is not possible with conventional optical methods. After a brief review of the most used techniques to perform interfacial optical spectroscopy, we will focus on time-resolved surface second harmonic generation, which allows the measurement of the excited-state dynamics of probe molecules at interfaces. By comparing these dynamics with those measured in bulk solutions, precious information on the properties of the interfacial region can be obtained. To illustrate this, several studies performed in our group will be presented.     

Electrophoretic deposition of TiO2 nanoparticles using organic dyes

Electrophoretic deposition method has been developed for the deposition of TiO(2) nanoparticles modified with organic dyes. Alizarin red, alizarin yellow and pyrocatechol violet dyes were used for the dispersion and charging of TiO(2) in ethanol and anodic electrophoretic deposition of TiO(2) films. The deposition yield was varied by the variation of dye concentration in suspensions and deposition time. Aurintricarboxylic acid dye was used for the deposition of TiO(2) from aqueous suspensions. It was found that thin films of pure aurintricarboxylic acid and composite aurintricarboxylic acid TiO(2) films can be obtained. The deposition yield was studied by quartz crystal microbalance. Dye film thickness was varied in the range of 0.1-2 μm by variation in the deposition time at a constant voltage. The composition of the films and the amount of the deposited material can be varied by the variation of TiO(2) and dye concentration in suspensions and deposition time. The films were studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, differential thermal analysis and electron microscopy. The deposition mechanisms were discussed. The electrophoretic deposition method offers advantages for the fabrication of dye-sensitized TiO(2) films.     

Quantum-chemical calculations of the electronic structures of polymethylidyne dyes

The energies of the transitions of unsubstituted and substituted thia-, thiazolo-, and thienothiazolocarbocyanines, as well as quinocyanines and carbocyanines with a condensed thiophene, furan, selenophene, or pyridine ring, to the excited singlet states and their electronic structures were calculated by the MO LCAO method within the Pariser—Parr—Pople approximation. The nature of the long-wave and short-wave absorption bands in the spectra of these dyes and the peculiarities of the color of thieno-, furo-, and selenophenothiazolo- and -pyridocyanines, as well as the effect of substituents on their electronic characteristics as a function of the position in the heteroresidues and the nature of the latter, are discussed.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 5, pp. 626–633, May, 1978.     

Probing photochemical transformations at TiO2Pt and TiO2Ir interfaces using x-ray absorption spectroscopy

Structural transformations at the TiO2Pt and TiO2Ir interfaces during UV-irradiation have been probed by X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Oxidation by the photogenerated holes results in the intercalation of Pt and Ir into the Titania matrix. The structural transformations observed with Pt and Ir nanoparticles anchored on TiO2 is different than the clustering of gold atoms observed in the TiO2/Au system. Implications of such structural transformations on the photocatalytic activity of semiconductor photocatalyts are discussed.     

Theoretical investigations on electronic structures and photophysical properties of novel bridged triphenylamine derivatives

It has been proved that triphenylamine (TPA) derivatives can be excellent candidates for hole‐transporting materials in organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs). To improve on the thermal and morphological stability, a fully diarymethylene‐bridged TPA derivative (FATPA) which has been proven to enhance electroluminescent (EL) efficiency was synthesized. On the basis of FATPA, two series of novel bridged TPA derivatives have been designed by using diarylmethylene (Series A) or dimethyfluorene (Series B) as the linkage between the ortho‐positions of the phenyl rings in this work (see Fig. 1 ). To reveal the relationships between electronic structures and photophysical properties of these novel functional materials, an in‐depth theoretical investigation was elaborated via quantum chemical calculations using the density functional theory (DFT) and time‐dependent density functional theory (TD‐DFT) methods. In addition, the feasibility of using these bridged TPA derivatives as host in the device of ITO/MoO₃/NPB/mCP/host:Ir(ppy)₃/TAZ/LiF/Al was also evaluated, which including the discussion to their energy levels match with adjacent layers and energy transfer from host to guest. These calculated results show that photophysical properties can be easily tuned by the introduction of various substituent groups into the bridged TPA derivatives, such as the highest occupied molecular orbitals (HOMOs), the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (LUMOs), the energies difference between the HOMOs and LUMOs (Δ_H‐L), the lowest singlet (E_S) and triplet (E_T) excitation energies, ionization potentials (IPs), electron affinities (EAs), reorganization energies (λ) and the absorption and emission spectra, indicating that these bridged TPA derivatives have great potential applications for OLEDs. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2012     

Slow cation transfer follows sensitizer regeneration at anatase TiO2 interfaces

After rapid photoinduced electron injection into TiO2 and regeneration by a donor, D, such as iodide or phenothiazine, sensitizers are present in an environment distinctly different from that prior to light absorption. Significantly, the absorption spectrum of the Ru(II) sensitizer in this new environment is one that is known to be less favorable for excited-state electron injection. The transient absorption features were found to report on photoinduced variations in the local electronic environment of the Ru(II) sensitizer-TiO2 interface that were induced by ion transfer. The data demonstrate that slow (micros to ms) cation transfer follows regeneration to yield the sensitizer that was initially photoexcited.     

Theoretical description of the geometric and electronic structures of organic-organic interfaces in organic solar cells: a brief review

We review some of the computational methodologies used in our research group to develop a better understanding of the geometric and electronic structures of organic-organic interfaces present in the active layer of organic solar cells. We focus in particular on the exciton-dissociation and charge-transfer processes at the pentacene-fullerene interface. We also discuss the local morphology at this interface on the basis of molecular dynamics simulations.     

The behaviour of dyes at oil/water interfaces

Summary The adsorption of ionic dyes, the builder effect, and the interaction between ionic dyes and surface active agents were investigated by using the electrocapillarity at oil/water interfaces. The oil phase was the solution of tetra-butylammonium chloride, sodium cetylsulphate, cetylpyridinium chloride or stearylamine in methylisobutylketone, and the water phase contained various dyes in addition to the inorganic electrolyte. The interfacial tension decreased over the anodic (or cathodic) polarization range, when anionic (or cationic) dyes were added to the water phase, thus indicating the dye adsorption at the interface. The interfacial excess of dye ions was found to increase linearly with the cubic roots of dye concentration and of ionic strength of the water phase. The counterion binding took place at the oil/water interface between anionic (or cationic) dyes and positive (or negative) head groups of surface active agent ions adsorbed at the interface. It was found that the equilibrium constants of binding between anionic dyes and cationic surface active agents at the oil/water interface were of the same order of magnitude as, and a little larger than, those obtained at the water bulk phase.

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Zusammenfassung An Öl-Wasser-Grenzflächen wurde die Adsorption ionischer Farbstoffe, die Füllerwirkung und die Wechselwirkung zwischen ionischen Farbstoffen und grenzflächenaktiven Verbindungen mit Hilfe der Elektrokapillarität untersucht. Die Ölphase bestand aus einer Lösung von Tetrabutylammoniumchlorid, Natriumcetylsulfat und Cetylpyridiniumchlorid oder Stearylamin in Methylisobutylketon. Die wässerige Phase enthielt verschiedene Farbstoffe und anorganische Elektrolyte. Die Grenzflächenspannung wurde durch anodische (bzw. kathodische) Polarisation erniedrigt, wenn anionischer (bzw. kationischer) Farbstoff zur Wasserphase gegeben wurde. Dies zeigt an, daß Farbstoff an der Grenzfläche adsorbiert wird. Die Grenzflächenkonzentration des Farbstoffions nimmt linear mit der Kubikwurzel der Farbstoffkonzentration und mit der Ionenstärke zu. Als Gegenionen für die anionischen (bzw. kationischen) Farbstoffe an der Grenzfläche wirken die positiven (bzw. negativen) Endgruppen der Tenside, die ebenfalls in der Grenzschicht adsorbiert sind. Die Gleichgewichtskonstanten für die Wechselwirkung zwischen den ionischen Farbstoffen und den grenzflächenaktiven Verbindungen sind an der Öl-Wasser-Grenzfläche von der gleichen Größenordnung bzw. geringfügig größer als in der wässerigen Volumenphase.

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With 12 figures and 2 tables     

Electrochemical characterization of small organic hole-transport molecules based on the triphenylamine unit

A series of substituted triphenylamine-containing organic compounds are synthesized and their hole-transport properties are examined by electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical methods. Several substituted tirphenylamines exhibited irreversible electron-transfer reactions both in the oxidative and reductive scan. On the other hand, the cyclic voltammograms of the p-phenylenediamine series are well defined. N,N^′-bis(4-nitrophenyl)-N,N^′-diphenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine (NPD) exhibited two reversible oxidation redox couples at +1.00 and +1.28 V vs. Ag/AgCl in dichloromethane solution. There is one reversible reduction redox couple at −1.12 V and one irreversible wave with E_p,c at −1.87 V. Cyano-substituted p-phenylenediamine (CPD) exhibited similar oxidation redox couples. Amino-substituted p-phenylenediamine (APD) is easier to oxidize than NPD and CPD. APD exhibits two reversible oxidation redox couples at +0.40 and +0.70 V and two extra irreversible oxidation waves at +1.26 and +1.52 V. Optically transparent thin-layer electrode (OTTLE) coupled with UV/Vis/NIR spectroscopy was used to examine the oxidation products of the above reactions. The electrogenerated cation and dication of the substituted p-phenylenediamine are very stable in the spectroelectrochemical studies. Oxidation of the compound APD exhibited a distinguished absorption pattern, which is different from those of compound NPD and compound CPD.     

A theoretical study on the electronic structures of TiO2: Effect of Hartree-Fock exchange

The effects of the Fock exchange on the geometries and electronic structures of TiO2 have been investigated by introducing a portion of Hartree-Fock (HF) exchange into the traditional density functional. Our results indicate that the functional with 13% HF exchange can correctly predict the band gap and the electronic structures of rutile TiO2, and such an approach is also suitable to describe the structural and electronic properties of anatase and brookite phases. For the TiO2 (110) surfaces, although the surface relaxations are insensitive to the variation of HF exchange, there are larger effects on the positions of the occupied surface-induced states. When 13% HF exchange is employed, the predicted band gap of the perfect surface and position of defect state of the reduced surface are consistent with the experimental values. Moreover, the electronic structures of TiO2 (110) surface are carefully reexamined by using this hybrid density functional method.     

Short time deposition of TiO2 nanoparticles on SiC as photocatalysts for the degradation of organic dyes

The deposition of TiO₂ nanoparticles on SiC was carried out by mechanical milling under different conditions. SiC–TiO₂ samples were used as photocatalysts for the degradation of organic dyes such as methylene blue and rhodamine B. A short time deposition of TiO₂ nanoparticles was observed during mechanical milling (2 min at 200 rpm) to cover the SiC particles. The presence of SiC and TiO₂ (anatase and rutile) was confirmed by means of X-ray diffraction after thermal treatment at 450 °C. The deposition of TiO₂ on SiC was corroborated by scanning electron microscopy analysis; the thickness of the thin layer of TiO₂ deposited on SiC increases as the proportion of TiO₂ increases. The energy band gap values obtained for these compounds were around 3.0 eV. SiC–TiO₂ photocatalysts prepared by mechanical milling exhibited better activity under UV-light irradiation for the degradation of methylene blue and rhodamine B than commercial TiO₂ powder (titania P25).     

Acquired pH-responsive and reversible enrichment of organic dyes by peroxide modified ultrathin TiO2 nanosheets

The acquired pH-responsive and reversible enrichment of organic dyes from aqueous solutions by peroxide modified ultrathin nanosheets of anatase and TiO(2)(B) is illustrated in comparison with P25 and TiO(2)(B) nanowires.     

Alignment of electronic energy levels at electrochemical interfaces

The position of electronic energy levels in a phase depends on the surface potentials at its boundaries. Bringing two phases in contact at an interface will alter the surface potentials shifting the energy levels relative to each other. Calculating such shifts for electrochemical interfaces requires a combination of methods from computational surface science and physical chemistry. The problem is closely related to the computation of potentials of electrochemically inactive electrodes. These so-called ideally polarizable interfaces are impossible to cross for electrons. In this perspective we review two density functional theory based methods that have been developed for this purpose, the workfunction method and the hydrogen insertion method. The key expressions of the two methods are derived from the formal theory of absolute electrode potentials. As an illustration of the workfunction method we review the computation of the potential of zero charge of the Pt(111)-water interface as recently published by a number of groups. The example of the hydrogen insertion method is from our own work on the rutile TiO(2)(110)-water interface at the point of zero proton charge. The calculations are summarized in level diagrams aligning the electronic energy levels of the solid electrode (Fermi level of the metal, valence band maximum and conduction band minimum of the semiconductor) to the band edges of liquid water and the standard potential for the reduction of the hydroxyl radical. All potentials are calculated at the same level of density functional theory using the standard hydrogen electrode as common energy reference. Comparison to experiment identifies the treatment of the valence band of water as a potentially dangerous source of error for application to electrocatalysis and photocatalysis.     

Determining the orientation and molecular packing of organic dyes on a TiO2 surface using X-ray reflectometry

The determination of the orientation and molecular density for several porphyrin dyes adsorbed on planar TiO(2) surfaces using X-ray reflectometry (XRR) is reported. Adsorption of nanoscale water layers occurred rapidly upon exposure of freshly prepared TiO(2) surfaces to ambient conditions; however, this was successfully eliminated, resulting in clearly discernible adsorbed dye layers for sensitized surfaces. Adsorbed dye orientations, determined from computations constrained by the measured dye layer thickness, were calculated to have a binding tilt angle of 35°-40°. Combining the XXR data with the orientation models indicates that the porphyrins form densely packed surfaces with an intermolecular spacing of 3-4 ?, consistent with π-π stacking interactions. Changes in the molecular size of probe dyes were reflected in corresponding changes in the measured dye layer thickness, confirming the ability of this technique to resolve small variations in dye layer thickness and consequently adsorption orientation. Application of these results to understanding the behavior of dye-sensitized devices is discussed.     

Characterization of the interface dipole at organic/ metal interfaces

In organics-based (opto)electronic devices, the interface dipoles formed at the organic/metal interfaces play a key role in determining the barrier for charge (hole or electron) injection between the metal electrodes and the active organic layers. The origin of this dipole is rationalized here from the results of a joint experimental and theoretical study based on the interaction between acrylonitrile, a pi-conjugated molecule, and transition metal surfaces (Cu, Ni, and Fe). The adsorption of acrylonitrile on these surfaces is investigated experimentally by photoelectron spectroscopies, while quantum mechanical methods based on density functional theory are used to study the systems theoretically. It appears that the interface dipole formed at an organic/metal interface can be divided into two contributions: (i) the first corresponds to the "chemical" dipole induced by a partial charge transfer between the organic layers and the metal upon chemisorption of the organic molecules on the metal surface, and (ii) the second relates to the change in metal surface dipole because of the modification of the metal electron density tail that is induced by the presence of the adsorbed organic molecules. Our analysis shows that the charge injection barrier in devices can be tuned by modulating various parameters: the chemical potential of the bare metal (given by its work function), the metal surface dipole, and the ionization potential and electron affinity of the organic layer.     

HREELS to identify electronic structures of organic thin films

The electronic structure of alpha-oligothiophene (alphanT) thin films has been investigated for increasing chain lengths of n= 4-8 thiophene units with high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS) in the specular reflection geometry at a primary energy of 15 eV. The great advantage of this technique in contrast to UV/VIS absorption spectroscopy results from the fact, that the impact scattering mechanism of HREELS makes it possible to also detect optically forbidden electronic transitions. On the other hand, the electrons used as probes in HREELS have a wavelength which is two orders of magnitudes smaller if compared to those of photons used in UV/VIS absorption spectroscopy. Therefore individual molecules are excited by HREELS independent from each other and hence the excitation of collective excitons is not possible. As a result, information about the orientation of the molecules cannot be achieved with HREELS, which, however, is possible in polarization-dependent UV/VIS spectroscopy.     

不对称方酸染料的电子结构与光导性的从头算研究

用量子化学从头算法,在RHF/6-31G(d,p)水平上优化了八种不对称方酸染料的分子构型,并对它们的分子内电荷转移程度与暗衰值,光敏值和最大吸收波长的定量关系进行研究,发现不对称方酸染料的分子内电荷转移性质,是影响不对称方酸染料光导性和最大吸收波长的重要因素。     

Computational modelling of TiO2 surfaces sensitized by organic dyes with different anchoring groups: adsorption modes, electronic structure and implication for electron injection/recombination

We present a Density Functional Theory investigation aimed to model the possible adsorption modes to the TiO(2) surface of two representative TPA-based dyes, termed L0 and rh-L0, having the two mostly employed anchoring groups, namely the cyanoacrylic and rhodanine-3-acetic acids respectively. The bidentate coordination with proton transfer to a nearby surface oxygen is found to be the energetically favored anchoring mode for both dyes. The calculations show that the different dye anchoring groups give rise to a very different electronic coupling between the dye and the manifold of unoccupied semiconductor states, thus implying different electron injection mechanisms. The strongly coupled L0 dye possibly shows an adiabatic electron injection mechanism, while a non-adiabatic electron injection can be foreseen for the weakly coupled rh-L0 dye. The different orientation with respect to the TiO(2) surface for the two classes of dyes, implying different distances of the donor group from the oxide surface, together with the different electron injection mechanisms might account for the faster recombination reaction measured for the rhodanine-based dyes.