Structure of Organic/Inorganic Interface in Assembled Materials Comprising Molecular Components. Crystal Structure of the Sensitizer Bis[(4,4‘-carboxy-2,2‘-bipyridine)(thiocyanato)]ruthenium(II)

• Published in: Chemistry of materials 1998-09, Vol.10 (9), p.2533-2541
• Main Authors: Shklover, V, Ovchinnikov, Yu. E, Braginsky, L. S, Zakeeruddin, S. M, Grätzel, M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Exact sciences and technology; Inorganic compounds; Interface structure and roughness; Metal complexes; Physics; Solid surfaces and solid-solid interfaces; Structure of solids and liquids; crystallography; Structure of specific crystalline solids; Surfaces and interfaces; thin films and whiskers (structure and nonelectronic properties)
• ISSN: 0897-4756; 1520-5002
• DOI: 10.1021/cm980303g

Structural data have been obtained for the photosensitizer bis[(4,4‘-carboxy-2,2‘-bipyridine)(thiocyanato)]ruthenium(II) (1) via X-ray diffraction analysis. Crystals of 1 are triclinic, a = 11.4663(4) Å, b = 12.5897(5) Å, c = 18.9329(7) Å, α = 75.238(2)°, β = 89.611(2)°, γ = 66.446(2)°, space group P1̄, Z = 2, refinement to R = 0.0809, R w = 0.0950 for 4045 observed reflections. Structural models of sensitizer molecules anchoring to the TiO2 anatase surface and models of close-packed sensitizer monolayers with different anchoring types have been built by using experimental geometry of known organic Ti complexes and the X-ray structure of sensitizer 1. On the basis of a simple one-dimensional tight-binding model, it was suggested that possible modifications of TiO2/sensitizer interface could enhance interfacial transparency for injected electrons.