Said Barazzouk

Enhanced charge separation in chlorophyll a solar cell by gold nanoparticles

An efficient organic photoelectrochemical cell based on chlorophyll a (Chla) and gold nanoparticles is constructed. The enhanced performance of this cell is due to the beneficial role of gold nanoparticles in accepting and shuttling the photogenerated electrons in Chla to the collecting electrode. This produces a long-distance charge-separated state, resulting into an enhancement in charge separation efficiency.

Unusual electrocatalytic behavior of ferrocene bound fullerene cluster films

Fullerene clusters containing a redox couple (ferrocene) have been assembled as nanostructured films on conducting glass and carbon electrodes using an electrophoretic approach. These films show irreversibility in the reduction waves when the electrochemical scan is limited to cathodic cycles (potential range of 0 to −0.8 V versus SCE). However, the reversibility in the cyclic voltammograms can be restored by extending the scans to the anodic region (+0.75 to −0.8 V versus SCE). The ferrocene couple reoxidizes the stabilized C60 anion–tetrabutylammonium complex in the cluster assembly during the oxidation cycle. We present here a simple approach of incorporating a redox active species for improving the electrochemical activity of fullerene films. The electrochemical measurements that illustrate the electrocatalytic property of C60 cluster films are described.