Electropolymerization of Triphenylamine appended Zinc Porphyrin to form Porphyrin-Fullerene dyads at the electrode surface for photochemical studies

Abstract

Porphyrins with their attractive chemical properties qualify to seek potential technological applications including solar energy conversion, sensors, catalysts, biomedicine, molecular electronics, and photonics. Many of these applications require the Porphyrin to be on a surface, preferably in a conducting polymer matrix. Electro polymerization is a convenient method to produce such a conducting porphyrin polymer on the electrode surface. Compared to chemical methods, an electrochemical method is simple, and ensures good electrical conductivity across the interface. In the present study, we report electro polymerization of tetrakis N,N-diphenylaminoporphyrinatozinc(II) on the electrode surface. Subsequently, porphyrin-fullerene dyad is formed via axial coordination of a phenylimidazole appended fullerene. The film formation was monitored by electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance, and characterized by surface and optical methods. The newly formed donor-acceptor dyad was further utilized in photoelectrochemical applications to convert light energy directly into electricity.