Controlling the Flow of Charges across Phthalocyanine@Transition-Metal Dichalcogenide Interfaces
The Guldi Group published a new paper in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS) addressing the directional control of interfacial charge transfer in molecular semiconductor heterostructures. The key process in solar-to-X conversions is charge separation across interfaces, as occurs within the silicon pn junction in commercial solar cells. However, for charge separation to happen within semiconductor molecule heterostructures the alignment of the molecules orbitals and the semiconductors band is crucial. In the present publication we studied how we can control and tailor the direction of charge separation in non-covalently bound phthalocyanines on transition metal dichalcogenide nanosheet networks. We understood that the interaction relies on dispersive forces which can be hindered by bulky substituents. Furthermore, transient absorption spectroscopy revealed that the direction of charge transfer can be controlled by tuning the electronic structure of the phthalocyanines. Hence, this system presents a flexible platform for rational design with particular charge transfer behaviour.