- Sakai, N.; Bhosale, R.; Emery, D.; Mareda, J.; Matile, S. “Supramolecular n/p-Heterojunction Photosystems with Antiparallel Redox Gradients in Electron- and Hole-Transporting Pathways” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2010, 132, 6923-6925
Lessons from nature call for supramolecular n/p-heterojunctions with oriented multicolored antiparallel redox gradients (OMARG-SHJs) as “ideal” photosystems. Their design combines advantages of bilayer and bulk n/p-heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells for the directional separation of photogenerated charges before recombination to occur. Conceptually attractive, OMARG-SHJs remained beyond reach because of unresolved challenges in synthetic organic and supramolecular chemistry. Here, we report the first OMARG-SHJs with two-component redox gradients in both electron- and hole-transporting pathway. They are obtained by zipper assembly of stacks of red naphthalenediimide (NDI) electron donors along strings of oligophenylethynyl hole acceptors on top of yellow NDI electron acceptors along p-oligophenyl hole donors. The presence of both gradients is shown to be essential to achieve photoinduced charge separation over very long distances.
DOI: 10.1021/ja101944r
open archive unige:6649 • pdf 