Nkosiphile Masilela

Symmetrically and unsymmetrically substituted carboxy phthalocyanines as sensitizers for nanoporous ZnO films

The photoelectroectrochemical studies of water soluble octacarboxylated oxotitanium (OTiOCPc), zinc (ZnOCPC), hydroxyaluminium ((OH)AlOCPc), dihydroxysilicon ((OH)2SiOCPc), hydroxygallium (OHGaOCPc) and low symmetry zinc monocarboxy (ZnMCPc) phthalocyanines were performed. The dyes were adsorbed to nanoporous ZnO electrodeposited in the presence of eosin Y as structure directing agent (SDA) on FTO substrates by refluxing or soaking the films in a solution containing the dye of interest such that a full surface coverage was achieved. High external (IPCE) and internal (APCE) quantum efficiencies of up to 50.6% and 96.7% were achieved for the OTiOCPc complex. There was a lower overall cell efficiency for cells sensitized with phthalocyanines containing hydroxyl as axial ligand ZnO/(OH)2SiOCPc, ZnO/(OH)GaOCPc and (OH)AlOCPc because of strong aggregation on the surface of the electrodes. To further suppress dye aggregation, the zinc complex of a new monocarboxylated phthalocyanine sensitizer with bulky naphtho side groups (ZnMCPc) was employed. Among the studied sensitizers, ZnMCPc gave the highest overall cell efficiency of phthalocyanine electrodeposited on ZnO of η = 0.48%.

Axial coordination of zinc and silicon phthalocyanines to silver and gold nanoparticles: an investigation of their photophysicochemical and antimicrobial behavior

This work reports on the axial coordination of zinc phthalocyanine and bis-(1,6-hexanedithiol) silicon phthalocyanine to silver and gold nanoparticles. Red shifting of absorption spectra of the phthalocyanine complexes was observed after conjugation with the nanoparticles. An improvement in the photophysicochemical behavior and antimicrobial activity was achieved in the presence of metal nanoparticles for both complexes. A decrease in triplet lifetimes was observed for all the phthalocyanine metal nanoparticle conjugates. The Zn phthalocyanine complex gave the highest triplet and singlet oxygen quantum yield in the presence of gold nanoparticles. On the other hand, the bacterial inhibition was found to be best for the Si phthalocyanine derivative in the presence of nanoparticles compared to the Zn phthalocyanine counterpart. The highest antimicrobial activity was achieved for both conjugates against B. subtilis compared to S. aureaus both in the dark and under illumination with light.

Improved photocatalytic degradation of Orange G using hybrid nanofibers

AbstractFunctionalised electrospun polyamide-6 (PA-6) nanofibres incorporating gadolinium oxide nanoparticles conjugated to zinc tetracarboxyphenoxy phthalocyanine (ZnTCPPc) as the sensitizer were prepared for the photocatalytic degradation of Orange G. Fibres incorporating the phthalocyanine alone or a mixture of the nanoparticles and phthalocyanine were also generated. The singlet oxygen-generating ability of the sensitizer was shown to be maintained within the fibre mat, with the singlet oxygen quantum yields increasing upon incorporation of the magnetic nanoparticles. Consequently, the rate of the photodegradation of Orange G was observed to increase with an increase in singlet oxygen quantum yield. A reduction in the half-lives for the functionalised nanofibres was recorded in the presence of the magnetic nanoparticles, indicating an improvement in the efficiency of the degradation process. Graphical abstractᅟ