Ultrafast Recombination Dynamics in Dye-Sensitized SnO2/TiO2 Core/Shell Films.

Interfacial dynamics are investigated in SnO2/TiO2 core/shell films derivatized with a Ru(II)-polypyridyl chromophore ([RuII(bpy)2(4,4'-(PO3H2)2bpy)]2+, RuP) using transient absorption methods. Electron injection from the chromophore into the TiO2 shell occurs within a few picoseconds after photoexcitation. Loss of the oxidized dye through recombination occurs across time scales spanning 10 orders of magnitude. The majority (60%) of charge recombination events occur shortly after injection (τ = 220 ps), while a small fraction (≤20%) of the oxidized chromophores persists for milliseconds. The lifetime of long-lived charge-separated states (CSS) depends exponentially on shell thickness, suggesting that the injected electrons reside in the SnO2 core and must tunnel through the TiO2 shell to recombine with oxidized dyes. While the core/shell architecture extends the lifetime in a small fraction of the CSS, making water oxidation possible, the subnanosecond recombination process has profound implications for the overall efficiencies of dye-sensitized photoelectrosynthesis cells (DSPECs).

Phosphonate-Derivatized Porphyrins for Photoelectrochemical Applications.

A series of phosphonate-derivatized, high redox potential porphyrins with mesityl, pentafluorophenyl, and heptafluoropropyl meso-substituents were synthesized by acid-catalyzed condensation reactions. Ground and excited state redox potentials in the series were varied systematically with the electron-donating or electron-accepting nature of the meso-substitutents. The extent of excitation and injection by porphyrin singlet excited states surface-bound to SnO2/TiO2 core/shell metal oxide nanoparticle films varies with the excited state reduction potential, E°(')(P(+)/P*). With the mesityl-substituted porphyrin, high current density and sustained photocurrents are observed at pH 7 with the addition of the electron transfer donor hydroquinone.

Polymer-supported CuPd nanoalloy as a synergistic catalyst for electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide to methane.

Developing sustainable energy strategies based on CO2 reduction is an increasingly important issue given the world's continued reliance on hydrocarbon fuels and the rise in CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere. An important option is electrochemical or photoelectrochemical CO2 reduction to carbon fuels. We describe here an electrodeposition strategy for preparing highly dispersed, ultrafine metal nanoparticle catalysts on an electroactive polymeric film including nanoalloys of Cu and Pd. Compared with nanoCu catalysts, which are state-of-the-art catalysts for CO2 reduction to hydrocarbons, the bimetallic CuPd nanoalloy catalyst exhibits a greater than twofold enhancement in Faradaic efficiency for CO2 reduction to methane. The origin of the enhancement is suggested to arise from a synergistic reactivity interplay between Pd-H sites and Cu-CO sites during electrochemical CO2 reduction. The polymer substrate also appears to provide a basis for the local concentration of CO2 resulting in the enhancement of catalytic current densities by threefold. The procedure for preparation of the nanoalloy catalyst is straightforward and appears to be generally applicable to the preparation of catalytic electrodes for incorporation into electrolysis devices.

Ultrafast, Light-Induced Electron Transfer in a Perylene Diimide Chromophore-Donor Assembly on TiO2.

Surface-bound, perylenediimide (PDI)-based molecular assemblies have been synthesized on nanocrystalline TiO2 by reaction of a dianhydride with a surface-bound aniline and succinimide bonding. In a second step, the Fe(II) polypyridyl complex [Fe(II)(tpy-PhNH2)2](2+) was added to the outside of the film, also by succinimide bonding. Ultrafast transient absorption measurements in 0.1 M HClO4 reveal that electron injection into TiO2 by (1)PDI* does not occur, but rather leads to the ultrafast formation of the redox-separated pair PDI(•+),PDI(•-), which decays with complex kinetics (τ1 = 0.8 ps, τ2 = 15 ps, and τ3 = 1500 ps). With the added Fe(II) polypyridyl complex, rapid (<25 ps) oxidation of Fe(II) by the PDI(•+),PDI(•-) redox pair occurs to give Fe(III),PDI(•-) persisting for >400 µs in the film environment.

Electrochemical oxidation of ²4³Am(III) in nitric acid by a terpyridyl-derivatized electrode.

Selective oxidation of trivalent americium (Am) could facilitate its separation from lanthanides in nuclear waste streams. Here, we report the application of a high-surface-area, tin-doped indium oxide electrode surface-derivatized with a terpyridine ligand to the oxidation of Am(III) to Am(V) and Am(VI) in nitric acid. Potentials as low as 1.8 volts (V) versus the saturated calomel electrode were applied, 0.7 V lower than the 2.6 V potential for one-electron oxidation of Am(III) to Am(IV) in 1 molar acid. This simple electrochemical procedure provides a method to access the higher oxidation states of Am in noncomplexing media for the study of the associated coordination chemistry and, more important, for more efficient separation protocols.

Electrochemical Instability of Phosphonate-Derivatized, Ruthenium(III) Polypyridyl Complexes on Metal Oxide Surfaces.

The oxidative stability of the molecular components of dye-sensitized photoelectrosynthesis cells for solar water splitting remains to be explored systematically. We report here the results of an electrochemical study on the oxidative stability of ruthenium(II) polypyridyl complexes surface-bound to fluorine-doped tin oxide electrodes in acidic solutions and, to a lesser extent, as a function of pH and solvent with electrochemical monitoring. Desorption occurs for the Ru(II) forms of the surface-bound complexes with oxidation to Ru(III) enhancing both desorption and decomposition. Based on the results of long-term potential hold experiments with cyclic voltammetry monitoring, electrochemical oxidation to Ru(III) results in slow decomposition of the complex by 2,2'-bipyridine ligand loss and aquation and/or anation. A similar pattern of ligand loss was also observed for a known chromophore-catalyst assembly for both electrochemical water oxidation and photoelectrochemical water splitting. Our results are significant in identifying the importance of enhancing chromophore stability, or at least transient stability, in oxidized forms in order to achieve stable performance in aqueous environments in photoelectrochemical devices.

Stabilization of ruthenium(II) polypyridyl chromophores on nanoparticle metal-oxide electrodes in water by hydrophobic PMMA overlayers.

We describe a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) dip-coating procedure, which results in surface stabilization of phosphonate and carboxylate derivatives of Ru(II)-polypyridyl complexes surface-bound to mesoporous nanoparticle TiO2 and nanoITO films in aqueous solutions. As shown by contact angle and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements, PMMA oligomers conformally coat the metal-oxide nanoparticles changing the mesoporous films from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. The thickness of the PMMA overlayer on TiO2-Ru(II) can be controlled by changing the wt % of PMMA in the dipcoating solution. There are insignificant perturbations in electrochemical or spectral properties at thicknesses of up to 2.1 nm with the Ru(III/II) couple remaining electrochemically reversible and E1/2 values and current densities nearly unaffected. Surface binding by PMMA overlayers results in stable surface binding even at pH 12 with up to a ∼100-fold enhancement in photostability. As shown by transient absorption measurements, the MLCT excited state(s) of phosphonate derivatized [Ru(bpy)2((4,4'-(OH)2PO)2bpy)](2+) undergo efficient injection and back electron transfer with pH independent kinetics characteristic of the local pH in the initial loading solution.

Visible light driven benzyl alcohol dehydrogenation in a dye-sensitized photoelectrosynthesis cell.

Light-driven dehydrogenation of benzyl alcohol (BnOH) to benzaldehyde and hydrogen has been shown to occur in a dye-sensitized photoelectrosynthesis cell (DSPEC). In the DSPEC, the photoanode consists of mesoporous films of TiO2 nanoparticles or of core/shell nanoparticles with tin-doped In2O3 nanoparticle (nanoITO) cores and thin layers of TiO2 deposited by atomic layer deposition (nanoITO/TiO2). Metal oxide surfaces were coderivatized with both a ruthenium polypyridyl chromophore in excess and an oxidation catalyst. Chromophore excitation and electron injection were followed by cross-surface electron-transfer activation of the catalyst to -Ru(IV)═O(2+), which then oxidizes benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde. The injected electrons are transferred to a Pt electrode for H2 production. The nanoITO/TiO2 core/shell structure causes a decrease of up to 2 orders of magnitude in back electron-transfer rate compared to TiO2. At the optimized shell thickness, sustained absorbed photon to current efficiency of 3.7% was achieved for BnOH dehydrogenation, an enhancement of ~10 compared to TiO2.

Water oxidation by an electropolymerized catalyst on derivatized mesoporous metal oxide electrodes.

A general electropolymerization/electro-oligomerization strategy is described for preparing spatially controlled, multicomponent films and surface assemblies having both light harvesting chromophores and water oxidation catalysts on metal oxide electrodes for applications in dye-sensitized photoelectrosynthesis cells (DSPECs). The chromophore/catalyst ratio is controlled by the number of reductive electrochemical cycles. Catalytic rate constants for water oxidation by the polymer films are similar to those for the phosphonated molecular catalyst on metal oxide electrodes, indicating that the physical properties of the catalysts are not significantly altered in the polymer films. Controlled potential electrolysis shows sustained water oxidation over multiple hours with no decrease in the catalytic current.

Photoinduced interfacial electron transfer within a mesoporous transparent conducting oxide film.

Interfacial electron transfer to and from conductive Sn-doped In2O3 (ITO) nanoparticles (NPs) in mesoporous thin films has been investigated by transient absorption measurements using surface-bound [Ru(II)(bpy)2(dcb)](2+) (bpy is 2,2'-bipyridyl and dcb is 4,4'-(COOH)2-2,2'-bipyridyl). Metal-to-ligand charge transfer excitation in 0.1 M LiClO4 MeCN results in efficient electron injection into the ITO NPs on the picosecond time scale followed by back electron transfer on the nanosecond time scale. Rates of back electron transfer are dependent on thermal annealing conditions with the rate constant increasing from 1.8 × 10(8) s(-1) for oxidizing annealing conditions to 8.0 × 10(8) s(-1) for reducing conditions, presumably due to an enhanced electron concentration in the latter.

Synthesis of phosphonic acid derivatized bipyridine ligands and their ruthenium complexes.

Water-stable, surface-bound chromophores, catalysts, and assemblies are an essential element in dye-sensitized photoelectrosynthesis cells for the generation of solar fuels by water splitting and CO2 reduction to CO, other oxygenates, or hydrocarbons. Phosphonic acid derivatives provide a basis for stable chemical binding on metal oxide surfaces. We report here the efficient synthesis of 4,4'-bis(diethylphosphonomethyl)-2,2'-bipyridine and 4,4'-bis(diethylphosphonate)-2,2'-bipyridine, as well as the mono-, bis-, and tris-substituted ruthenium complexes, [Ru(bpy)2(Pbpy)](2+), [Ru(bpy)(Pbpy)2](2+), [Ru(Pbpy)3](2+), [Ru(bpy)2(CPbpy)](2+), [Ru(bpy)(CPbpy)2](2+), and [Ru(CPbpy)3](2+) [bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine; Pbpy = 4,4'-bis(phosphonic acid)-2,2'-bipyridine; CPbpy = 4,4'-bis(methylphosphonic acid)-2,2'-bipyridine].

Stabilization of a ruthenium(II) polypyridyl dye on nanocrystalline TiO2 by an electropolymerized overlayer.

The long-term performance of dye-sensitized solar and photoelectrochemical cells is strongly dependent on the stability of surface-bound chromophores and chromophore-catalyst assemblies at metal oxide interfaces. We report here electropolymerization as a strategy for increasing interfacial stability and as a simple synthetic route for preparing spatially controlled, multicomponent films at an interface. We demonstrate that [Fe(v-tpy)2](2+) (v-tpy = 4'-vinyl-2,2':6',2″-terpyridine) can be reductively electropolymerized on nanocrystalline TiO2 functionalized with a phosphonate-derivatized Ru(II) polypyridyl chromophore. The outer:inner Fe:Ru ratio can be controlled by the number of reductive electrochemical scan cycles as shown by UV-visible absorption and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy measurements. Overlayer electropolymerization results in up to 30-fold enhancements in photostability compared to the surface-bound dye alone. Transient absorbance measurements have been used to demonstrate that photoexcitation and electron injection by the MLCT excited state(s) of the surface-bound Ru(II) complex is followed by directional, outside-to-inside, Fe(II) → Ru(III) electron transfer. This strategy is appealing in opening a new approach for synthesizing surface-stabilized chromophore-catalyst assemblies on nanocrystalline metal oxide films.

Strategies for stabilization of electrodeposited metal particles in electropolymerized films for H2O oxidation and H+ reduction.

Metal particles were electrodeposited on a variety of conducting substrates, and their electrocatalytic activity toward H2O oxidation to O2 and H(+) reduction to H2 was evaluated. Co, Ni, Cu, Pd, Ag, and Pt were all electrodeposited on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) electrodes. Particularly active were Pd and Pt for H(+) reduction and Co and Ag for H2O oxidation. When cycled reductively in 0.1 M HClO4, FTO electrodes derivatized with Pt and Pd reached current densities for hydrogen evolution of 18.3 and 13.2 mA/cm(2), respectively, at -0.6 V vs normal hydrogen electrode (NHE). FTO electrodes with electrodeposited Co or Ag were cycled oxidatively in H2O buffered to pH 7 with phosphate buffer. Current densities of 10.5 and 8.70 mA/cm(2), respectively, were reached at +1.8 V vs NHE with H2O oxidation onsets at +1.3 and +1.4 V, respectively. The impacts on catalytic stability and performance of electrodeposited metals in/on an electrically conductive polymer support were also investigated. Films of poly-[Fe(vbpy)3](PF6)2 (vbpy is 4-methyl-4'-vinyl-2,2'-bipyridine) were generated on FTO by reductive electropolymerization. Significant improvements to the long-term stability of electrodeposited Ag and Pt particles were observed in the poly-[Fe(vbpy)3](PF6)2 support. Films of poly-[M(vbpy)3](PF6)2 with M = Co(II) or Cu(II) were also prepared and evaluated as electrocatalysts for H2O oxidation. Films containing Co(II) reached current densities of 6.0 mA/cm(2) at +1.8 V vs NHE in H2O.

Coordination chemistry of single-site catalyst precursors in reductively electropolymerized vinylbipyridine films.

Reductive electropolymerization of [Ru(II)(PhTpy)(5,5'-dvbpy)(Cl)](PF6) and [Ru(II)(PhTpy)(5,5'-dvbpy)(MeCN)](PF6)2 (PhTpy is 4'-phenyl-2,2':6',2″-terpyridine; 5,5'-dvbpy is 5,5'-divinyl-2,2'-bipyridine) on glassy carbon electrodes gives well-defined films of poly{[Ru(II)(PhTpy)(5,5'-dvbpy)(Cl)](PF6)} (poly-1) or poly{[Ru(II)(PhTpy)(5,5'-dvbpy)(MeCN)](PF6)2} (poly-2). Oxidative cycling of poly-2 with added NO3(-) results in the replacement of coordinated MeCN by NO3(-) to give poly{[Ru(II)(PhTpy)(5,5'-dvbpy)(NO3)](+)}, and with 0.1 M HClO4, replacement by H2O occurs to give poly{[Ru(II)(PhTpy)(5,5'-dvbpy)(OH2)](2+)} (poly-OH2). Although analogous aqua complexes (e.g., [Ru(tpy)(bpy)(OH2)](2+)) undergo rapid loss of H2O to MeCN in solution, poly-OH2 and poly-OH2(+) are substitutionally inert in MeCN. The substitution chemistry is reversible, with reductive scans of poly-1 or poly-OH2 in MeCN resulting in poly-2, although with some loss of Faradaic response.