Enhanced Photocurrent in the RuL2(NCS)(2)/di-(3-aminopropyl)-viologen/Au Nanoparticles/ITO System: Use of Au Nanoparticles for Retardation of the Back Electron Transfer Reaction

Abstract

This paper reports the use of Au nanoparticles (NPs) as electron transfer bridge layers to improve the photocurrent of viologen/Ru complex-based photoelectrochemical cells. The Ru complex/viologen/Au NPs on electrodes were prepared using self-assembled monolayers. The cell system showed an excellent photocurrent of 25 nA/cm(2) Under the 1.5 air mass condition (I = 100 mW/cm(2)), which is five times greater than Au NPs due to the reduced recombination reaction.