Synthesis and intramolecular pericyclization of 1-azulenyl thioketones

Several azulene-substituted thioketones, 1-thiobenzoylazulene (1a) and di(1-azulenyl) thioketone (2a) and their derivatives (1b and 2b-d) with alkyl substituents on each azulene ring, were prepared and their intramolecular pericyclization reaction was examined. The thioketones with a 3-alkyl substituent on each azulene ring exhibited the presumed pericyclization reaction under thermal and acid-catalyzed conditions, although the cases of the 1-azulenyl thioketones without the 3-alkyl substituents afforded a complex mixture under similar conditions. The intramolecular reaction following the intramolecular hydrogen transfer afforded the products 13b, 14b, and 14c. The products 13b and 14b were converted into the corresponding cations 18(+) and 19(+), which have structural similarity with that of the phenalenyl cation. These cations exhibited the expected two-step reduction waves upon CV, although the ESR analysis revealed that the neutral radical state did not have the presumed high stability.     

Deposition of a thin film of TiOx from a titanium metal target as novel blocking layers at conducting glass/TiO2 interfaces in ionic liquid mesoscopic TiO2 dye-sensitized solar cells

In dye-sensitized TiO2 solar cells, charge recombination processes at interfaces between fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO), TiO2, dye, and electrolyte play an important role in limiting the photon-to-electron conversion efficiency. From this point of view, a high work function material such as titanium deposited by sputtering on FTO has been investigated as an effective blocking layer for preventing electron leakage from FTO without influencing electron injection. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis indicates that different species of Ti (Ti4+, Ti3+, Ti2+, and a small amount of Ti0) exist on FTO. Electrochemical and photoelectrochemical measurements reveal that thin films of titanium species, expressed as TiOx, work as a compact blocking layer between FTO and TiO2 nanocrystaline film, improving Voc and the fill factor, finally giving a better conversion efficiency for dye-sensitized TiO2 solar cells with ionic liquid electrolytes.