Nano Express
Nanostructured hybrid ZnO thin films for energy conversion
1 Department de Física Aplicada-IDF, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camí de Vera s/n, 46022, València, Spain
2 Centro de Física, Universidade do Minho, Braga, 4700-057 Braga, Portugal
Nanoscale Research Letters 2011, 6:384 doi:10.1186/1556-276X-6-384
Published: 16 May 2011Abstract
We report on hybrid films based on ZnO/organic dye prepared by electrodeposition using tetrasulfonated copper phthalocyanines (TS-CuPc) and Eosin-Y (EoY). Both the morphology and porosity of hybrid ZnO films are highly dependent on the type of dyes used in the synthesis. High photosensitivity was observed for ZnO/EoY films, while a very weak photoresponse was obtained for ZnO/TS-CuPc films. Despite a higher absorption coefficient of TS-CuPc than EoY, in ZnO/EoY hybrid films, the excited photoelectrons between the EoY levels can be extracted through ZnO, and the porosity of ZnO/EoY can also be controlled.
