Ultrafast terahertz spectroscopy provides insight into charge transfer efficiency and dynamics in artificial photosynthesis

Photosynthesis Research
Uriel T TayvahGary W Brudvig

Abstract

Terahertz (THz) spectroscopy provides a noncontact method to measure the ultrafast dynamics and photoconductivity of mobile carriers in semiconducting materials. This has proven useful in studying artificial photosynthesis devices which use semiconductor photoelectrodes. We present a brief introduction to optical-pump THz-probe (OPTP) spectroscopy, a technique that provides unique and useful insight into interfacial electron transfer (from the surface-attached dye to the conduction band of the semiconductor) in dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cells. Compared with more familiar methods like visible transient absorption spectroscopy, OPTP spectroscopy stands out in offering both sub-picosecond time resolution as well as sensitivity to mobile carriers (electrons and holes) in the semiconductor portion of artificial photosynthesis devices. The mobile carriers are crucial to device performance as only they pass to the other half cell to complete the reaction. In order to highlight these advantages and illustrate the types of questions OPTP spectroscopy can address, we discuss three case studies. In the first, OPTP spectroscopy is used to measure the injection rates from a set of six different dyes, revealing the effect of the en...Continue Reading

References

May 3, 2012·Journal of the American Chemical Society·Robert C SnoebergerJason B Benedict
Jul 19, 2013·Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics : PCCP·Thomas BergerVíctor Morales-Flórez
Oct 23, 2014·Journal of the American Chemical Society·Christian F A NegreVictor S Batista
Apr 14, 2015·Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics : PCCP·Dhritabrata Mandal, Thomas W Hamann
Jul 2, 2016·Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics : PCCP·Jianbing JiangGary W Brudvig
Sep 23, 2016·Journal of the American Chemical Society·M Kyle BrennamanThomas J Meyer
Jun 24, 2017·Chemical Society Reviews·Kelly L MaternaGary W Brudvig
Mar 16, 2018·Analytical Chemistry·Coleen T NemesCharles A Schmuttenmaer
Jun 11, 2019·Journal of the American Chemical Society·Brian PattengaleCharles A Schmuttenmaer

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