Unraveling an Ultrafast Electron Transport Mechanism in a Photocatalytic “Micromachine” for Their Potential Light Harvesting Applications
Following the seminal discovery of Richard Feynman, several micromachines have been made that are capable of several applications, such as solar energy harvesting, remediation of environmental pollution, etc. Here we have synthesized a nanohybrid combining TiO<sub>2</sub> nanoparticle an...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Micromachines |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/14/5/980 |
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| author | Nivedita Pan Lopamudra Roy Md. Nur Hasan Amrita Banerjee Ria Ghosh Meshari A. Alsharif Basim H. Asghar Rami J. Obaid Arpita Chattopadhyay Ranjan Das Saleh A. Ahmed Samir Kumar Pal |
| author_facet | Nivedita Pan Lopamudra Roy Md. Nur Hasan Amrita Banerjee Ria Ghosh Meshari A. Alsharif Basim H. Asghar Rami J. Obaid Arpita Chattopadhyay Ranjan Das Saleh A. Ahmed Samir Kumar Pal |
| author_sort | Nivedita Pan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Following the seminal discovery of Richard Feynman, several micromachines have been made that are capable of several applications, such as solar energy harvesting, remediation of environmental pollution, etc. Here we have synthesized a nanohybrid combining TiO<sub>2</sub> nanoparticle and light harvesting robust organic molecule RK1 (2-cyano-3-(4-(7-(5-(4-(diphenylamino)phenyl)-4-octylthiophen-2-yl)benzo[c][1,2,5] thiadiazol-4-yl)phenyl) acrylic acid) as a model micromachine having solar light harvesting ability potential for application in photocatalysis, preparation of solar active devices, etc. Detailed structural characterization, including High Resolution Transmission Electronic Microscopy (HRTEM) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), has been performed on the nanohybrid. We have studied the excited-state ultrafast dynamics of the efficient push-pull dye RK1 in solution, on mesoporous semiconductor nanoparticles, and in insulator nanoparticles by streak camera (resolution of the order of 500 fs). The dynamics of such photosensitizers in polar solvents have been reported, and it has been observed that completely different dynamics occur when they are attached to the surface of the semiconductor/insulator nanosurface. A femtosecond-resolved fast electron transfer has been reported when photosensitizer RK1 has been attached to the surface of the semiconductor nanoparticle, which in turn plays a crucial role in the development of an efficient light harvesting material. The generation of reactive oxygen species as a result of femtosecond-resolved photoinduced electron injection in the aqueous medium is also investigated in order to explore the possibility of redox-active micromachines, which are found to be crucial for efficient and enhanced photocatalysis. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:29:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-164115e0f8414738ba13e91ad7dabc5e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-666X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:29:00Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Micromachines |
| spelling | doaj.art-164115e0f8414738ba13e91ad7dabc5e2023-11-18T02:30:00ZengMDPI AGMicromachines2072-666X2023-04-0114598010.3390/mi14050980Unraveling an Ultrafast Electron Transport Mechanism in a Photocatalytic “Micromachine” for Their Potential Light Harvesting ApplicationsNivedita Pan0Lopamudra Roy1Md. Nur Hasan2Amrita Banerjee3Ria Ghosh4Meshari A. Alsharif5Basim H. Asghar6Rami J. Obaid7Arpita Chattopadhyay8Ranjan Das9Saleh A. Ahmed10Samir Kumar Pal11Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Salt Lake, Block JD, Sector 3, Kolkata 700106, IndiaDepartment of Applied Optics and Photonics, University of Calcutta, 92, Acharya Prafulla Chandra Rd, Machuabazar, Kolkata 700009, IndiaDepartment of Chemical and Biological Sciences, S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Salt Lake, Block JD, Sector 3, Kolkata 700106, IndiaDepartment of Physics, Jadavpur University, 188, Raja S.C. Mallick Rd, Kolkata 700032, IndiaDepartment of Chemical and Biological Sciences, S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Salt Lake, Block JD, Sector 3, Kolkata 700106, IndiaDepartment of Chemistry, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Chemistry, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Chemistry, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Basic Science and Humanities, Techno International New Town, Block-DG 1/2 New Town, Action Area 1, Kolkata 700156, IndiaDepartment of Chemistry, West Bengal State University, Barasat, North 24 Parganas, Kolkata 700126, IndiaDepartment of Chemistry, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Chemical and Biological Sciences, S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Salt Lake, Block JD, Sector 3, Kolkata 700106, IndiaFollowing the seminal discovery of Richard Feynman, several micromachines have been made that are capable of several applications, such as solar energy harvesting, remediation of environmental pollution, etc. Here we have synthesized a nanohybrid combining TiO<sub>2</sub> nanoparticle and light harvesting robust organic molecule RK1 (2-cyano-3-(4-(7-(5-(4-(diphenylamino)phenyl)-4-octylthiophen-2-yl)benzo[c][1,2,5] thiadiazol-4-yl)phenyl) acrylic acid) as a model micromachine having solar light harvesting ability potential for application in photocatalysis, preparation of solar active devices, etc. Detailed structural characterization, including High Resolution Transmission Electronic Microscopy (HRTEM) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), has been performed on the nanohybrid. We have studied the excited-state ultrafast dynamics of the efficient push-pull dye RK1 in solution, on mesoporous semiconductor nanoparticles, and in insulator nanoparticles by streak camera (resolution of the order of 500 fs). The dynamics of such photosensitizers in polar solvents have been reported, and it has been observed that completely different dynamics occur when they are attached to the surface of the semiconductor/insulator nanosurface. A femtosecond-resolved fast electron transfer has been reported when photosensitizer RK1 has been attached to the surface of the semiconductor nanoparticle, which in turn plays a crucial role in the development of an efficient light harvesting material. The generation of reactive oxygen species as a result of femtosecond-resolved photoinduced electron injection in the aqueous medium is also investigated in order to explore the possibility of redox-active micromachines, which are found to be crucial for efficient and enhanced photocatalysis.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/14/5/980D-π-A organic photosensitizerwide band gap semiconductorphotocatalysisultrafast femtosecond dynamics |
| spellingShingle | Nivedita Pan Lopamudra Roy Md. Nur Hasan Amrita Banerjee Ria Ghosh Meshari A. Alsharif Basim H. Asghar Rami J. Obaid Arpita Chattopadhyay Ranjan Das Saleh A. Ahmed Samir Kumar Pal Unraveling an Ultrafast Electron Transport Mechanism in a Photocatalytic “Micromachine” for Their Potential Light Harvesting Applications Micromachines D-π-A organic photosensitizer wide band gap semiconductor photocatalysis ultrafast femtosecond dynamics |
| title | Unraveling an Ultrafast Electron Transport Mechanism in a Photocatalytic “Micromachine” for Their Potential Light Harvesting Applications |
| title_full | Unraveling an Ultrafast Electron Transport Mechanism in a Photocatalytic “Micromachine” for Their Potential Light Harvesting Applications |
| title_fullStr | Unraveling an Ultrafast Electron Transport Mechanism in a Photocatalytic “Micromachine” for Their Potential Light Harvesting Applications |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unraveling an Ultrafast Electron Transport Mechanism in a Photocatalytic “Micromachine” for Their Potential Light Harvesting Applications |
| title_short | Unraveling an Ultrafast Electron Transport Mechanism in a Photocatalytic “Micromachine” for Their Potential Light Harvesting Applications |
| title_sort | unraveling an ultrafast electron transport mechanism in a photocatalytic micromachine for their potential light harvesting applications |
| topic | D-π-A organic photosensitizer wide band gap semiconductor photocatalysis ultrafast femtosecond dynamics |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/14/5/980 |
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