Research Seminar:
N3-dye is a popular chromophore in the family of Ru(bpy) transition-metal photocatalysts and is often used in the fabrication of dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) photovoltaic devices. The interfacial structure and adsorption geometry of N3-dye affects the electron transfer kinetics within a DSSC device, which can influence the overall device efficiency. Heterodyne detected vibrational sum frequency generation (HD-VSFG) spectroscopy is used to study the interfacial structure of N3-dye on gold and TiO2 substrates. HD-VSFG is a powerful spectroscopic technique that yields vibrational information exclusively at an interface and is utilized to elucidate the adsorption geometry of N3-dye. It is revealed that by altering the pH of deposition conditions, the dye changes its adsorption geometry on both gold and TiO2. Additionally, in-situ HD-VSFG studies investigate the adsorption geometry of N3-dye on TiO2 in the presence of acetonitrile and reports on the N3-dye structure and environment within a DSSC device. The study of how conditions influence the adsorption geometry of N3-dye will inform future studies on dye/chromophore loading conditions and overall photovoltaic device fabrication.
