Powering a supramolecular machine with a photoactive molecular triad

Abstract

The ability of a molecular Triad which uses TTF as the donor group (TTF-P-C60) to perform photo-to-electrical energy conversion was investigated. The design incorporates the efficient motifs of charge separation in TTF-based triads together with a disulfide-based tether for attachment to a gold electrode. The Triad was designed and synthesized in a modular fashion from its components in order to allow its electronic properties to be optimized according to Marcus theory by subsequent structure-property feedback loops. The photocurrent was recorded in both aqueous and organic solutions which was observed to be 0 V in acetonitrile bodes well for optimizing the system to obtain a true photocell that can generate an open-circuit photovoltage. The cyclic voltammogram (CV) of the Triad self-assembled monolayer (SAM) on a gold wire electrode shows a quasi-reversible peak at 680 mV assigned to the two-electron oxidation of the TTF unit.