We designed and synthesized as eries of novel electron-accepting zinc(II)phthalocyanines (ZnPc) and probed them in p-type dye sensitized solar cells (p-DSSCs) by using CuO as photocathodes.Byrealizing the right balance between interfacial charge separation and charge recombination, optimizedf ill factors (FFs) of 0.43 were obtained. With ac ontrol over fill factors in p-DSSCs in hand we turned our attemtion to t-DSSCs,inw hichwecombined for the first time CuO-based p-DSSCs with TiO 2 -based n-DSSCs using ZnPc and N719. In the resulting t-DSSCs,the V OC of 0.86 Visthe sum of those found in p-and n-DSSCs,w hile the FF remains around 0.63. It is only the smaller J sc sint-DSSCs that limits the efficiency to 0.69 %.
Carbon nanodots (CNDs) synthesized from citric acid and formyl derivatives, that is, formamide, urea, or N‐methylformamide, stand out through their broad‐range visible‐light absorbance and extraordinary photostability. Despite their potential, their use has thus far been limited to imaging research. This work has now investigated the link between CNDs’ photochemical properties and their chemical structure. Electron‐rich, yellow carbon nanodots (yCNDs) are obtained with in situ addition of NaOH during the synthesis, whereas otherwise electron‐poor, red carbon nanodots (rCNDs) are obtained. These properties originate from the reduced and oxidized dimer of citrazinic acid within the matrix of yCNDs and rCNDs, respectively. Remarkably, yCNDs deposited on TiO2 give a 30% higher photocurrent density of 0.7 mA cm−2 at +0.3 V versus Ag/AgCl under Xe‐lamp irradiation (450 nm long‐pass filter, 100 mW cm−2) than rCNDs. The difference in overall photoelectric performance is due to fundamentally different charge‐transfer mechanisms. These depend on either the electron‐accepting or the electron‐donating nature of the CNDs, as is evident from photoelectrochemical tests with TiO2 and NiO and time‐resolved spectroscopic measurements.
In this contribution, seminal works in the area of photon‐ and charge‐management are highlighted with focus on covalent electron donor‐acceptor conjugates built around porphyrins (Ps), on one hand, and 0D, 1D, and 2D nanocarbons, on the other hand. Photons in these conjugates are managed by Ps, while 0D, 1D, and 2D nanocarbons serve as the active component, which enable managing charges. With a few leading examples, it can be explored much beyond the simple photon‐ and charge‐management characterization and emphasize photovoltaics and photocatalysis to convert and store energy. This contribution concludes by highlighting recent progress in mixing and matching the unique charge‐management features of nanocarbons in the design of multidimensional nanocarbons.
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