Tessel Bouwens
Delft University of Technology
Department of Chemical Engineering
Using supramolecular machinery to enhance the efficiency of photoelectrochemical cells
📅 December 5, 2024
🕒 15.30
📍 Sunstone Seminar Room A+B
Coffee, beverages & snacks are served 30 min before the talk in front of the seminar room
Harnessing solar energy under diffuse light conditions is a challenge that can be addressed with solar cell devices, such as photoelectrochemical cells (PECs). However, PECs suffer from efficiency losses due to electron-hole recombination. Inspired by natural photosynthesis, we apply supramolecular machinery as a strategy to inhibit recombination through the organization of molecular components by making use of a (pseudo)rotaxane topology. Photoswitchable pseudorotaxanes are used to actively create a charge-separated state by launching charged rings away from the surface that contain the holes. The PECs based on supramolecular machinery demonstrated a 16-fold and 5-fold increase in power conversion efficiency compared to devices featuring two control dyes that do not facilitate pseudorotaxane formation. This bio-inspired approach to integrate supramolecular machinery in PECs demonstrates the impact of molecular organization on the performance of devices for solar conversion technologies.
[1] T. Bouwens, T. M. A. Bakker, K. Zhu, J. Hasenack, M. Dieperink, A. M. Brouwer, A. Huijser, S. Mathew & J. N. H. Reek, Nat. Chem. 2023, 15, 213–221.
[2] T. Bouwens, S. Mathew, J. N. H. Reek, Faraday Discuss. 2019, 215, 393–406.
[3] T. Bouwens, T. M. A. Bakker, K. Zhu, A. Huijser, S. Mathew, J. N. H. Reek, Adv. Sci. 2024, 11, 2306032.
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