Light energy conversion using mixed molecular nanoclusters. Porphyrin and C60 cluster films for efficient photocurrent generation

Taku Hasobe, Hiroshi Imahori, Shunichi Fukuzumi, Prashant V. Kamat

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

154 Scopus citations

Abstract

Composite molecular nanoclusters of fullerene and porphyrin prepared in acetonitrile/toluene mixed solvent absorb light over the entire spectrum of visible light. Upon slow evaporation of the solvent on the copper grid, these mixed nanoclusters undergo close-packed stacking to produce either tubular- or square-shaped microcrystallites and differ from those obtained from single-component clusters. The highly colored composite clusters can be assembled as 3-dimensional arrays onto nanostructured SnO2 films using an electrophoretic deposition approach. The composite cluster films exhibit an incident photon-to-photocurrent efficiency (IPCE) as high as 17% at an applied potential of 0.2 V vs SCE, which is significantly higher than the additive effect observed from either porphyrin (IPCE = 1.6%) or fullerene clusters (IPCE = 5.0%) under similar photoelectrochemical conditions. The high IPCE values observed with porphyrin and C60 clusters demonstrate the synergy of these systems toward yielding efficient photoinduced charge separation within these composite nanoclusters.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)12105-12112
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry B
Volume107
Issue number44
DOIs
StatePublished - 6 Nov 2003

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