Electron interfacial, processes

Duonghung D, Ramsden J, Gratzel M (1982) Dynamics of interfacial electron-transfer processes in colloidal semiconductor systems. J Am Chem Soc 104 2977-2985... 

Tributsch H (1985) Interfacial processes involving strong electronic interactions in solar energy conversion and storage. J Photochem 29 89-113... 

Electron transfer processes leading to a product adsorbed in the interfacial region o are of practical interest. These processes include the deposition of a metal such as Cu or Pd at ITIES, the preparation of colloidal metal particles with catalytic properties for homogeneous organic reactions, or electropolymerization. 

Although the correlation between ket and the driving force determined by Eq. (14) has been confirmed by various experimental approaches, the effect of the Galvani potential difference remains to be fully understood. The elegant theoretical description by Schmickler seems to be in conflict with a great deal of experimental results. Even clearer evidence of the k t dependence on A 0 has been presented by Fermin et al. for photo-induced electron-transfer processes involving water-soluble porphyrins [50,83]. As discussed in the next section, the rationalization of the potential dependence of ket iti these systems is complicated by perturbations of the interfacial potential associated with the specific adsorption of the ionic dye. 

Between 0.20 and 0.30 V, a decay of the initial photocurrent and a negative overshoot after interrupting the illumination are developed. This behavior resembles the responses observed at semiconductor-electrolyte interfaces in the presence of surface recombination of photoinduced charges [133-135] but at a longer time scale. These features are in fact related to the back-electron-transfer processes within the interfacial ion pair schematically depicted in Fig. 11. 

Interfacial electron transfer is the critical process occurring in all electrochemical cells in which molecular species are oxidized or reduced. While transfer of an electron between an electrode and a solvated molecule or ion is conceptually a simple reaction, rates of heterogeneous electron transfer processes depend on a multitude of factors and can vary over many orders of magnitude. Since control of interfacial electron transfer rates is usually essential for successful operation of electrochemical devices, understanding the kinetics of these reactions has been and remains a challenging and technologically important goal. 

In contrast to metal electrodes, for a semiconductor-electrolyte interface most of the potential drop is located in the semiconductor making it difficult to study interfacial processes using potential perturbation techniques [11,20,55,58,60-65,75-78]. H. Gerischer [76] proposed a model in which electrons and holes are considered as individual interfacial reactants. Distinct and preferential electron transfer reactions involve either the conduction band or valence band as dependent on the nature of the redox reactants of the electrolyte, with specific properties dependent upon the energy state location. 

In voltammetric experiments, electroactive species in solution are transported to the surface of the electrodes where they undergo charge transfer processes. In the most simple of cases, electron-transfer processes behave reversibly, and diffusion in solution acts as a rate-determining step. However, in most cases, the voltammetric pattern becomes more complicated. The main reasons for causing deviations from reversible behavior include (i) a slow kinetics of interfacial electron transfer, (ii) the presence of parallel chemical reactions in the solution phase, (iii) and the occurrence of surface effects such as gas evolution and/or adsorption/desorption and/or formation/dissolution of solid deposits. Further, voltammetric curves can be distorted by uncompensated ohmic drops and capacitive effects in the cell [81-83]. 

The attention devoted to supramolecular sensitizers containing multifold chromophoric and electroactive centers arises from the construction of molecular devices based on nanometric and well-defined molecular architectures [4]. The use of these species for sensitization of titanium dioxide has provided fundamental insights into interfacial electron-transfer processes. 

Figure 7 Interfacial and intramolecular electron-transfer process for Ru(dcbH2)2(4-CH3, 4 -CH2-PTZ-2-2 bpy)2+ on Ti02.

Figure 8 Interfacial and intramolecular electron-transfer process for [Ru(dcbH2)2 (Cl)-BPA-Os(bpy)2Cl]2+ on 2.

C. Remote and Stepwise Interfacial Electron-Transfer Processes... 

Figure 9 Interfacial and remote electron-transfer process for the binuclear [fac-Re(I) (dcb)(CO)3(CN)Ru(II)(bpy)2(CN)] complex on Ti02.

Figure 12 Schematic representation of thermodynamic and kinetic parameters influencing interfacial electron-transfer processes between the semiconductor and an adsorbed redox specie.

This reaction occurs in about 10 ns when R is an iodide ion in the 0.5 M concentration range [5]. Diffusion of 2 through the nanocrystalline Ti02 film to the substrate Sn02 electrode and diffusion of the oxidized redox species, R +, through the solution to the counterelectrode allow both charge carriers to be transferred to the external circuit where useful work is performed. The transport of electrons [7,24-29] and redox species [30] will not be considered further except insofar as they relate to the interfacial processes that are the focus of this chapter. 

Our interest in SERS stemmed from our research activities concerned with establishing connections between the molecular structure of electrode interfaces and electrochemical reactivity. A current objective of our group is to employ SERS as a molecular probe of adsorbate-surface interactions to systems of relevance to electrochemical processes, and to examine the interfacial molecular changes brought about by electrochemical reactions. The combination of SERS and conventional electrochemical techniques can in principle yield a detailed picture of interfacial processes since the latter provides a sensitive monitor of the electron transfer and electronic redistributions associated with the surface molecular changes probed by the former. Although few such applications of SERS have been reported so far the approaches appear to have considerable promise. 

Interfacial Electron Transfer Processes at Modified Semiconductor Surfaces... 

Electron, energy and proton transfer or molecular rearrangements are the most important events that occur in interfacial supramolecular assemblies. In this chapter, the general theories of electron transfer, both within ISAs and across the film/electrode interface, are described. Moreover, photoinduced electron, energy and proton transfer processes are discussed. As this book focuses on supramolecular species, the treatment is restricted to intramolecular or interfacial processes without the requirement for prior diffusion of reactants. 

Dye-sensitized semiconductors continue to be the focus of considerable research as a consequence of their importance in photovoltaic technologies, with the theories and mechanisms behind their operation also emerging. Considerably less is known about photoinduced interfacial processes in large photochemically active adsorbates on metals. ISAs on metals are becoming increasingly prevalent and are possible precursors for suitable molecular electronic devices. It would seem likely that over the coming years fundamental studies on the photophysics and chemistry of these materials will become more widespread. 

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