Photon Upconversion from Chemically Bound Triplet Sensitizers and Emitters on Mesoporous ZrO2: Implications for Solar Energy Conversion

Photon upconversion by sensitized triplet-triplet annihilation (UC-STTA) is studied in systems with triplet sensitizers and emitter molecules cochemisorbed onto nanostructured ZrO2 films. UC-STTA is a promising strategy to overcome the Shockley-Queisser efficiency limit of single-threshold solar cells. The dye-loaded mesoporous ZrO2 films studied herein allow high molecular densities and are good proxy systems for the study of photophysics relevant to dye-sensitized solar cells. Two sensitizer/emitter dye pairs are studied: platinum(II) deuteroporphyrin IX dicarboxylic acid/4,4'-(10-(anthracene-9,10-diyl)dibenzoic acid and platinum(II) deuteroporphyrin IX dimethyl ester/methyl 4-(10-(p-tolyl)anthracen-9-yl)benzoate. Both dye pairs are closely related to the standard UC-STTA molecular pair platinum(II) octaethylporphyrin (PtOEP)/9,10-diphenylanthracene (DPA). By chemically anchoring the upconverting dye pairs onto ZrO2 films a significant improvement in UC-STTA efficiency is achieved with respect to previously studied cophysisorbed PtOEP/DPA. Controlled variation of the sensitizer/emitter dye ratios onto the surface shows that new energy loss mechanisms appear at high sensitizer surface coverage. Spectral signatures of porphyrin aggregates suggest separate sensitizer domains form, which limits the triplet sensitization of emitter molecules. The nanosecond time scale rise and decay of the observed UC emission are likely linked to the sample stability over time; UC emission is observed 1 year after sample preparation. These are promising properties for the application of this type of system for solar energy conversion.