A new family of square-planar donor-acceptor complexes of the form (cat)PdII(a-diimine) [cat = catecholate derivatives, a-diimine = mesitylphenanthrene diimine) was synthesized wherein the presence of both readily oxidisable and reducible ligands gives rise to photoinduced charge separation involving a low-lying, ligand-to-ligand charge-transfer (LLCT) state. The resulting dyes display highly tunable spectroscopic and electrochemical properties that were realized through the ready modulation of the catecholate-centered HOMO orbital.   Additionally, two of such Pd(II)dyes were independently elaborated with a disilyl phosphonate group at the catecholate donor ligand to showcase their possible function as hole-injecting sensitizers in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs).  The incorporation of the phosphonate anchoring group will be expected to afford the necessary coordination chemistry in the coupling of the dyes to semiconducting surfaces found in DSCs.  Studies based on the binding of dyes to metal oxide surfaces for photoinduced oxidation are underway.

Modular donor-acceptor complexes of palladium(II) for hole-injecting dye-sensitized solar cell applications

248th National Meeting (2014)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.