Affiliation: | 1. Department of Chemistry and Namur Advanced, Research College (NARC), University of Namur, Rue de Bruxelles 61, Namur B‐5000, Belgium;2. Department of Pharmaceutical and Chemical Sciences, University of Trieste, Piazzale Europa 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy;3. Molecular Photoscience Group, Istituto per la Sintesi Organica e la Fotoreattività del CNR, Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy;4. Université catholique de Louvain, ICTM Institute, Louvain La Neuve B‐1348, Belgium;5. IMT‐Bucharest Institute, Str. Erou Iancu Nicolae 126A, 077190 Bucharest, Romania;6. Laboratory for Chemistry of Novel Materials, Center of Innovation and Research in Materials & Polymers (CIRMAP), University of Mons‐UMONS/Materia Nova, 20 Place du Parc, Mons B‐7000, Belgium;7. Laboratory of Polymeric and Composite Materials, Center of Innovation and Research in Materials & Polymers (CIRMAP), University of Mons‐UMONS, Place du Parc 20, Mons B‐7000, Belgium |
Abstract: | The preparation and physical characterization of diverse porphyrin‐derived double‐walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs) conjugates are described. A porphyrin molecule is covalently linked and physically adsorbed to COOH‐derived DWCNTs. The photophysical properties of all porphyrin‐CNTs derivatives are studied in solution and in polymeric matrices. Definitive experimental evidence for photoinduced electron and/or energy transfer processes involving the porphyrin chromophores and the CNT wall is not obtained, but solid‐state UV‐vis absorption profiles display electronic transitions fingerprinting J‐ and H‐ type aggregates, where porphyrin molecules intermolecularly interact “head‐to‐tail” and “face‐to‐face”, respectively. In parallel, molecular modeling based on force‐field simulations is performed to understand the structure of the porphyrin‐CNTs interface and the nature of the interactions between the porphyrins and the DWCNTs. Finally, multilayered ‐ type devices are fabricated with the aim of investigating the interaction of the porphyrin‐derived DWCNTs with poly(3‐hexylthiophene)‐pyrene matrices containing small amounts of 1‐3‐(methoxycarbonyl)propyl]‐1‐phenyl‐6.6]C61. |