Electron and hole transfer dynamics of a triarylamine-based dye with peripheral hole acceptors on TiO2 in the absence and presence of solvent.

We investigated photoinduced primary charge transfer processes of the sensitizer E6 on TiO2 without solvent and in contact with the organic solvent acetonitrile and the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetracyanoborate [C2mim](+)[B(CN)4](-) using transient absorption spectroscopy, spectroelectrochemistry, and DFT/TDDFT calculations. E6, which belongs to a family of triarylamine dyes for solar cell applications, features two peripheral triarylamine units which are connected via diether spacer groups to the core chromophore and are designed to act as hole traps. This function was confirmed by spectroelectrochemistry, where the E6˙(+) radical cation shows a considerably blue-shifted absorption compared to dyes without these two substituents. This indicates that one of the terminal triarylamine units must carry the positive charge. After photoexcitation of E6 at 520 nm (S0 → S1 band), electrons are injected into TiO2 predominantly within the cross-correlation time (<80 fs), with some subsequent delayed electron injection (τ ca. 250 fs). Importantly, a transient Stark shift (electrochromism) is observed (time constants ca. 0.8 and 12 ps) which is related to a changing electric field generated by the E6˙(+) radical cations and injected electrons. This field induces absorption shifts of the dye species on the surface. Interestingly, these dynamics are largely unaffected by solvent molecules. However, pronounced differences are observed on longer timescales. In contact with solvent, one observes an increase in the E6˙(+) absorption band above 600 nm with a time constant of 75 ps. This is assigned to hole transfer from the core chromophore to one of the peripheral triarylamine substituents. Electron-cation recombination occurs on much longer timescales and is multiexponential, with time constants of ca. 100 µs, 1 ms and 15 ms. Because of hole trapping, it is slower than for similar dyes lacking the peripheral triarylamines. Additional experiments were performed for E6 attached to the wide band gap semiconductor ZrO2. Here, electron injection occurs into surface trap states with subsequent recombination. Another fraction of non-injecting E6 molecules in S1 quickly decays to S0 (time constants 1 and 35 ps).

Regeneration and recombination kinetics in cobalt polypyridine based dye-sensitized solar cells, explained using Marcus theory.

Regeneration and recombination kinetics was investigated for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) using a series of different cobalt polypyridine redox couples, with redox potentials ranging between 0.34 and 1.20 V vs. NHE. Marcus theory was applied to explain the rate of electron transfer. The regeneration kinetics for a number of different dyes (L0, D35, Y123, Z907) by most of the cobalt redox shuttles investigated occurred in the Marcus normal region. The calculated reorganization energies for the regeneration reaction ranged between 0.59 and 0.70 eV for the different organic and organometallic dyes investigated. Under the experimental conditions employed, the regeneration efficiency decreased when cobalt complexes with a driving force for regeneration of 0.4 eV and less were employed. The regeneration efficiency was found to depend on the structure of the dye and the concentration of the redox couples. [Co(bpy-pz)2](2+), which has a driving force for regeneration of 0.25 eV for the triphenylamine based organic dye, D35, was found to regenerate 84% of the dye molecules, when a high concentration of the cobalt complex was used. Recombination kinetics between electrons in TiO2 and cobalt(iii) species in the electrolyte was also studied using steady state dark current measurements. For cobalt complexes with highly positive redox potentials (>0.55 V vs. NHE) dark current was found to decrease, consistent with electron transfer reactions occurring in the Marcus inverted region. However, for the cobalt complexes with the most positive redox potentials an increase in dark current was found, which can be attributed to recombination mediated by surface states.

Photoinduced ultrafast dynamics of the triphenylamine-based organic sensitizer D35 on TiO2, ZrO2 and in acetonitrile.

The relaxation dynamics of the dye D35 has been characterized by transient absorption spectroscopy in acetonitrile and on TiO(2) and ZrO(2) thin films. In acetonitrile, upon photoexcitation of the dye via the S(0) → S(1) transition, we observed ultrafast solvation dynamics with subpicosecond time constants. Subsequent decay of the S(1) excited state absorption (ESA) band with a 7.1 ps time constant is tentatively assigned to structural relaxation in the excited state, and a spectral decay with 203 ps time constant results from internal conversion (IC) back to S(0). On TiO(2), we observed fast (<90 fs) electron injection from the S(1) state of D35 into the TiO(2) conduction band, followed by a biphasic dynamics arising from changes in a transient Stark field at the interface, with time constants of 0.8 and 12 ps, resulting in a characteristic blue-shift of the S(0) → S(1) absorption band. Several processes can contribute to this spectral shift: (i) photoexcitation induces immediate formation of D35˙(+) radical cations, which initially form electron-cation complexes; (ii) dissociation of these complexes generates mobile electrons, and when they start diffusing in the mesoporous TiO(2), the local electrostatic field may change; (iii) this may trigger the reorientation of D35 molecules in the changing electric field. A slower spectral decay on a nanosecond timescale is interpreted as a reduction of the local Stark field, as mobile electrons move deeper into TiO(2) and are progressively screened. Multiexponential electron-cation recombination occurs on much longer timescales, with time constants of 30 µs, 170 µs and 1.4 ms. For D35 adsorbed on ZrO(2), there is no clear evidence for a transient Stark shift, which suggests that initially formed cation-electron (trap state) complexes do not dissociate to form mobile conduction band electrons. Multiexponential decay with time constants of 4, 35, and 550 ps is assigned to recombination between cations and trapped electrons, and also to a fraction of D35 molecules in S(1) which decay by IC to S(0). Differential steady-state absorption spectra of D35˙(+) in acetonitrile and dichloromethane provide access to the complete D(0) → D(1) band. The absorption spectra of D35 and D35˙(+) are well described by TDDFT calculations employing the MPW1K functional.

Ultrafast dynamics of the indoline dye D149 on electrodeposited ZnO and sintered ZrO2 and TiO2 thin films.

The ultrafast photoinjection and subsequent relaxation steps of the indoline dye D149 were investigated in detail for a mesoporous electrodeposited ZnO thin film and compared with experiments on sintered TiO(2) and ZrO(2) thin films, all in contact with air, using pump-supercontinuum probe (PSCP) transient absorption spectroscopy in the range 370-770 nm. D149 efficiently injects electrons into the ZnO surface with time constants from ≤70 fs (time-resolution-limited) up to 250 fs, without the presence of slower components. Subsequent spectral dynamics with a time constant of 20 ps and no accompanying change in the oscillator strength are assigned to a transient Stark shift of the electronic absorption spectrum of D149 molecules in the electronic ground state due to the local electric field exerted by the D149˙(+) radical cations and conduction band electrons in ZnO. This interpretation is consistent with the shape of the relaxed PSCP spectrum at long times, which resembles the first derivative of the inverted steady-state absorption spectrum of D149. In addition, steady-state difference absorption spectra of D149˙(+) in solution from spectroelectrochemistry display a bleach band with distinctly different position, because no first-order Stark effect is present in that case. Interference features in the PSCP spectra probably arise from a change of the refractive index of ZnO caused by the injected electrons. The 20 ps component in the PSCP spectra is likely a manifestation of the transition from an initially formed bound D149˙(+)-electron complex to isolated D149˙(+) and mobile electrons in the ZnO conduction band (which changes the external electric field experienced by D149) and possibly also reorientational motion of D149 molecules in response to the electric field. We identify additional spectral dynamics on a similar timescale, arising from vibrational relaxation of D149˙(+) by interactions with ZnO. TiO(2) exhibits similar dynamics to ZnO. In the case of ZrO(2), electron injection accesses trap states, which exhibit a substantial probability for charge recombination. No Stark shift is observed in this case. In addition, the spectroelectrochemical experiments for D149˙(+) in dichloromethane and acetonitrile, which cover the spectral range up to 2000 nm, provide for the first time access to its complete D(0)→ D(1) absorption band, with the peak located at 1250 and 1055 nm, respectively. Good agreement is obtained with results from DFT/TDDFT calculations of the D149˙(+) spectrum employing the MPW1K functional.

Dielectric relaxation and ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy of [C6mim]+[Tf2N]−/acetonitrile mixtures.

Mixtures of the ionic liquid (IL) [C(6)mim](+)[Tf(2)N](-) and acetonitrile have been investigated by a combination of dielectric relaxation spectroscopy (DRS) and ultrafast transient absorption techniques using the molecular probe 12'-apo-ß-carotenoic-12'-acid (12'CA). Steady-state absorption spectra of the 12'CA molecule have also been recorded. The position of the probe's S(0)→ S(2) absorption maximum correlates linearly with the polarizability of the mixture, suggesting that the bulk composition is a good approximation to the local composition. The lifetime τ(1) of the S(1)/ICT state of 12'CA varies rather smoothly with composition between the value for pure acetonitrile (42 ps) and neat [C(6)mim](+)[Tf(2)N](-) (94 ps). At low IL contents there appears to be an influence of discrete ion pairs. Employing static dielectric constants from the DRS experiments, one finds that the lifetime of the probe in the IL mixtures is shorter than that in pure organic solvents with the same polarity parameter. This suggests an increased stabilization of the S(1)/ICT state in IL-containing mixtures, most likely due to IL-specific Coulombic interactions between the cation and the negative end of the probe's dipole. An ultrafast solvation component is observed which is ca. 0.5 ps in pure acetonitrile, and approaches the value for the pure IL (2.0 ps) already around x(IL) = 0.3. This is interpreted in terms of an efficient perturbation of the cooperative solvation response of acetonitrile by the presence of small amounts of IL and possibly also the viscosity increase when adding IL. This view is also supported by the increase of the average longitudinal relaxation time of acetonitrile upon addition of small IL amounts extracted from the DRS experiments.

Ultrafast photoinduced relaxation dynamics of the indoline dye D149 in organic solvents.

The relaxation dynamics of the indoline dye D149, a well-known sensitizer for photoelectrochemical solar cells, have been extensively characterized in various organic solvents by combining results from ultrafast pump-supercontinuum probe (PSCP) spectroscopy, transient UV-pump VIS-probe spectroscopy, time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC) measurements as well as steady-state absorption and fluorescence. In the steady-state spectra, the position of the absorption maximum shows only a weak solvent dependence, whereas the fluorescence Stokes shift Δν̃(F) correlates with solvent polarity. Photoexcitation at around 480 nm provides access to the S(1) state of D149 which exhibits solvation dynamics on characteristic timescales, as monitored by a red-shift of the stimulated emission and spectral development of the excited-state absorption in the transient PSCP spectra. In all cases, the spectral dynamics can be modeled by a global kinetic analysis using a time-dependent S(1) spectrum. The lifetime τ(1) of the S(1) state roughly correlates with polarity [acetonitrile (280 ps) < acetone (540 ps) < THF (720 ps) < chloroform (800 ps)], yet in alcohols it is much shorter [methanol (99 ps) < ethanol (178 ps) < acetonitrile (280 ps)], suggesting an appreciable influence of hydrogen bonding on the dynamics. A minor component with a characteristic time constant in the range 19-30 ps, readily observed in the PSCP spectra of D149 in acetonitrile and THF, is likely due to removal of vibrational excess energy from the S(1) state by collisions with solvent molecules. Additional weak fluorescence in the range 390-500 nm is observed upon excitation in the S(0)→S(2) band, which contains short-lived S(2)→S(0) emission of D149. Transient absorption signals after excitation at 377.5 nm yield an additional time constant in the subpicosecond range, representing the lifetime of the S(2) state. S(2) excitation also produces photoproducts.

Ultrafast intramolecular electronic energy transfer in rigidly linked aminopyrenyl-aminobenzanthronyl dyads--a femtosecond study.

Ultrafast electronic excitation transfer (EET) followed by structural and vibrational relaxation (VER) of the acceptor have been characterised using transient absorption and transient lens techniques.

Femtosecond pump-supercontinuum probe and transient lens spectroscopy of adonixanthin.

The ultrafast internal conversion (IC) dynamics of adonixanthin in organic solvents were studied by pump-supercontinuum probe (PSCP) and transient lens (TL) spectroscopy after photoexcitation to the S(2) state. Transient PSCP spectra in the range 344-768 nm provided the spectral evolution of the S(0)-->S(2) ground state bleach and S(1)-->S(n) excited state absorption. Time constants were tau(2) =115 and 111 fs for the S(2)-->S(1) IC and tau(1)=6.4 and 5.8 ps for the S(1)-->S(0) IC in acetone and methanol, respectively. There was only an insignificant polarity dependence of tau(1), underlining the negligible importance of intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) in the lowest-lying excited state of C(40) carotenoids with carbonyl substitution on the beta-ionone ring. A blueshift and a spectral narrowing of the S(1)-->S(n) ESA band, likely due to solvation dynamics, and formation of the adonixanthin radial cation at high pump energies via resonant two-photon ionization were found.

Solvent-dependent ultrafast internal conversion dynamics of n'-apo-beta-carotenoic-n'-acids (n = 8, 10, 12).

The ultrafast internal conversion dynamics of 12'-apo-beta-carotenoic-12'-acid (12'CA), 10'-apo-beta-carotenoic-10'-acid (10'CA) and 8'-apo-beta-carotenoic-8'-acid (8'CA) have been investigated by femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy. The three apocarotenoic acids were excited to the S(2) state with different excess energies. Time constants tau(1) for the IC process S(1)/ICT --> S(0) were measured by probing the dynamics at 390 nm (S(0) --> S(2)), 575 nm (S(1)/ICT --> S(n)), 850, 860 and 890 nm (S(2) --> S(n) and S(1)/ICT --> S(0)). In nonpolar solvents, the observed reduction of the tau(1) values with increasing conjugation length of the acids is consistent with a reduction of the energy gap between the S(1)/ICT and S(0) states. The values are in good agreement with those of the corresponding apocarotenals studied previously in our groups. In polar solvents, a pronounced reduction of tau(1) values was observed for 12'CA, however the behavior was different from that observed for the respective aldehyde 12'-apo-beta-caroten-12'-al studied previously: First, the degree of tau(1) reduction in methanol was milder for 12'CA (218 --> 55 ps) than for 12'-apo-beta-caroten-12'-al (220 --> 8 ps). Secondly, for 12'CA the plateau of solvent independent tau(1) values extended further into the mid-polar range (up to 0.5 on the Deltaf scale) than previously observed for the 12'-aldehyde. For 10'CA the polarity effect on the tau(1) values was weaker ( approximately 71 ps in n-hexane and 34 ps in methanol) and for 8'CA it disappeared completely ( approximately 24 ps averaged over all solvents). The polarity-induced reduction of tau(1) is likely due to the stabilization of an intramolecular charge transfer state in polar solvents. This S(1)/ICT state is also responsible for the stimulated emission in the near IR, which has been observed in this specific class of carotenoids with a terminal carboxyl group for the first time. The occurrence of stimulated emission in the near IR region is also consistent with the steady-state fluorescence spectra which are reported along with the absorption spectra of these species. Possible reasons for the different behavior of the apocarotenoic acids compared to the respective aldehydes are discussed.

Exploring 12'-apo-beta-carotenoic-12'-acid as an ultrafast polarity probe for ionic liquids.

The ultrafast excited-state dynamics of the carbonyl-containing carotenoid 12'-apo-beta-carotenoic-12'-acid (12'CA) have been used for probing the microscopic environment in various ionic liquids (ILs). The following IL cations were investigated: 1,3-di-n-alkyl-imidazolium featuring different n-alkyl chain lengths and also additional methylation at the C2 position, triethylsulfonium, as well as two tetraalkylammonium ions. These were combined with different anions: [BF4]-, [PF6]-, ethyl sulfate ([EtOSO3]-), and bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide ([Tf2N]-). The probe molecule was excited via the S0 --> S2 transition at 425 or 430 nm, and the characteristic stimulated emission decay of the low-lying excited electronic S1/ICT (intramolecular charge transfer) state of 12'CA was monitored in the near IR (850 or 860 nm). Its lifetime tau1 is sensitive to the micropolarity-induced stabilization of S1/ICT relative to S0. The lifetime tau1 of the S1/ICT state varies only moderately in all ionic liquids studied here ( approximately 40-110 ps), which lies in the range between ethanol (109 ps) and methanol (49 ps). While organic solvents show an excellent correlation of tau1 with the solvent polarity function Deltaf = (epsilon - 1)/(epsilon + 2) - (n2 - 1)/(n2 + 2), where epsilon and n are the static dielectric constant and the refractive index of the solvent, respectively, this is not the case for ILs. This is due to dominant local electrostatic probe-cation interactions which cannot be easily quantified by macroscopic quantities. Methylation at the C2 position of 1,3-di-n-alkyl-imidazolium reduces the accessibility of the cation and therefore the electrostatic stabilization of the probe, resulting in an increase of tau1. A similar increase is observed upon extension of one of the n-alkyl chains from ethyl to n-decyl. Tetraalkylammonium ILs show an increased tau1 probably due to their more delocalized positive charge which cannot interact so favorably with the probe, in contrast to trialkylsulfonium ILs where the charge is more localized on the sulfur atom. The dependence of tau1 on the IL anion is much weaker, the only notable exception being [EtOSO3]-, where 12'CA experiences a less polar local environment than expected on the basis of extrapolated static dielectric constants. This is possibly due to the competition of the anion and probe for the cation interaction sites. Considerable electrostatic probe-cation interactions can be also introduced by addition of large amounts of LiClO4 salt to ethanol and diethyl ether. In this case, tau1 also strongly decreases, indicating an efficient coordination of Li+ cation(s) with the carbonyl oxygen at the negative end of the probe molecule. The S1/ICT --> S0 internal conversion of the 12'CA probe in ILs accelerates with increasing temperature, which can be characterized by an apparent activation energy of a few kJ mol-1, which is expected for energy-dependent nonradiative processes.