Synergistically enhanced photoelectrochemical properties of a layer-by-layer hybrid film based on graphene oxide and a free terpyridyl-grafted ruthenium complex

Abstract

Electrostatically self-assembled multilayer films, which were formed using graphene oxide and a ruthenium complex, have been prepared. The films were characterized by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and cyclic voltammetry. The results indicated that the films were uniformly prepared and exhibited surface-confined metal-based redox behaviours. In addition, the films exhibited significant cathodic photocurrents that are better than the photocurrents observed for a phenylene-absent analogous Ru(II) complex-based thin film and a control film with a polyanion instead of GO. The mechanism of the enhanced cathodic photocurrent generation and the synergistically enhanced photocurrent are discussed. This thin film material could provide important insights for the development of more effective photoelectric conversion, as well as for photoelectrochemical catalytic and sensing devices.