New Approaches to More Effective Photosensitizers for TiO2-Based Solar Cells

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This research project focuses on the development of a protocol for the simple and rapid preparation and screening of new photosensitizers for titanium dioxide. The technique involves the stepwise synthesis of transition metal complexes anchored to semiconductor surfaces by carboxylate bridges. The anchoring ligand, metal, and auxiliary ligands are incorporated on the semiconductor in a stepwise fashion using a dipping procedure, allowing the rapid screening of many combinations of anchor ligand, metal, and auxiliary ligand.Professor Randolph P. Thummel, of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Houston, is supported by the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Program for his studies of new approaches to more effective photosensitizers for solar cells. Such sensitizers, for which design and stability issues offer extreme challenges, are required to take solar cell science and technology from the laboratory to the practical venue. Professor Thummel is developing a new approach for the simple and and rapid preparation and screening of new photosensitizers for titanium dioxide, a semiconductor used in photovoltaic solar cells. This method enjoys the advantage of not requiring the isolation or purification of any of the target complexes or intermediates, and only small amounts ( 1mg) of material are needed for the initial analysis.