Assembly of individual TiO2-C60/porphyrin hybrid nanoparticles for enhancement of photoconversion efficiency

Rational organization of porphyrin and C60 on the electrode surface in photovoltaic structures is essential to yield high quantum efficiency. In the present work, individual TiO2 nanoparticles were modified by introducing C60 and porphyrin units on the surface, and then electrophoretically deposited on an ITO/SnO2 electrode. The morphology of the photoactive layer on the electrode was significantly different from that of the layer produced as a result of separate deposition of C60 and porphyrin. The maximum incident photon to current efficiency of the resulting electrode approached 88% at 410 nm, which is the highest value among molecule-based photovoltaic cells reported to date. This indicates that molecular assembly of the C60 and porphyrin units on the individual nanoparticles through strong chemical attachment is a key factor in improving effective electron transfer between the photoactive units and the electrodes.