Sergio Tatay

Kinetic competition in liquid electrolyte and solid-state cyanine dye sensitized solar cells

The photovoltaic performance of liquid electrolyte and solid-state dye sensitized solar cells, employing a squarilium methoxy cyanide dye, are evaluated in terms of interfacial electron transfer kinetics. Dye adsorption to the metal oxide film resulted in a mixed population of aggregated and monomeric sensitizer dyes. Emission quenching data, coupled with transient absorption studies, indicate that efficient electron injection was only achieved by the monomeric dyes, with the aggregated dye population having an injection yield an order of magnitude lower. In liquid electrolyte devices, transient absorption studies indicate that photocurrent generation is further limited by slow kinetics of the regeneration of monomeric dye cations by the iodide/iodine redox couple. The regeneration dynamics are observed to be too slow (≫ 100 µs) to compete effectively with the recombination of injected electrons with dye cations. In contrast, for solid-state devices employing the organic hole conductor spiro-OMeTAD, the regeneration dynamics are fast enough (≪ 1 µs) to compete effectively with this recombination reaction, resulting in enhanced photocurrent generation.

Deep-red-emitting electrochemical cells based on heteroleptic bis-chelated ruthenium(II) complexes.

Two ruthenium(II)-based complexes were prepared that show intense deep-red light emission at room temperature. Solid-state electroluminescent devices were prepared using one of the ruthenium complexes as the only active component. These devices emit deep-red light at low voltages and exhibit extraordinary stabilities, demonstrating their potential for low-cost deep-red light sources.

Large-scale Nanopatterning of Single Proteins used as Carriers of Magnetic Nanoparticles

However, the supramolecular organization attained from‘‘bottom-up’’approachesiseitherdifficulttoextendfromnano-tomesoscopic length scales or does not allow accurate placement ofthe desired structures on a specific region of an inhomogeneoussurface. Similarly, a variety of methods based on Coulomb-force-directed assembly of nanoparticles have been proposed.

Self-Assembly of a Copper(II)-Based Metallosupramolecular Hexagon

The self-assembly of a 1:1 mixture of copper(II) ions and a rigid heteroditopic ligand L containing phen and terpy binding units gives rise in the solid state to green crystals of a hexanuclear metallamacrocycle 1. X-ray crystallography reveals that 1 consists of molecular hexagons of the grid-type family in which each metal ion is bound to two different ligands through the phen and terpy units, plus a weakly coordinated PF6 (-) anion in a highly distorted octahedral geometry. ES-MS studies of acetonitrile solutions of L and copper(II) in a 1:1 ratio show mixtures of polynuclear complexes in which trinuclear L3Cu3 species are predominant.

Effect of metal complexation on the conductance of single-molecular wires measured at room temperature.

The present work aims to give insight into the effect that metal coordination has on the room-temperature conductance of molecular wires. For that purpose, we have designed a family of rigid, highly conductive ligands functionalized with different terminations (acetylthiols, pyridines, and ethynyl groups), in which the conformational changes induced by metal coordination are negligible. The single-molecule conductance features of this series of molecular wires and their corresponding Cu(I) complexes have been measured in break-junction setups at room temperature. Experimental and theoretical data show that no matter the anchoring group, in all cases metal coordination leads to a shift toward lower energies of the ligand energy levels and a reduction of the HOMO-LUMO gap. However, electron-transport measurements carried out at room temperature revealed a variable metal coordination effect depending on the anchoring group: upon metal coordination, the molecular conductance of thiol and ethynyl derivatives decreased, whereas that of pyridine derivatives increased. These differences reside on the molecular levels implied in the conduction. According to quantum-mechanical calculations based on density functional theory methods, the ligand frontier orbital lying closer to the Fermi energy of the leads differs depending on the anchoring group. Thereby, the effect of metal coordination on molecular conductance observed for each anchoring could be explained in terms of the different energy alignments of the molecular orbitals within the gold Fermi level.

Self-assembled monolayer-functionalized half-metallic manganite for molecular spintronics.

(La,Sr)MnO(3) manganite (LSMO) has emerged as the standard ferromagnetic electrode in organic spintronic devices due to its highly spin-polarized character and air stability. Whereas organic semiconductors and polymers have been mainly envisaged to propagate spin information, self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) have been overlooked and should be considered as promising materials for molecular engineering of spintronic devices. Surprisingly, up to now the first key step of SAM grafting protocols over LSMO surface thin films is still missing. We report the grafting of dodecyl (C12P) and octadecyl (C18P) phosphonic acids over the LSMO half-metallic oxide. Alkylphosphonic acids form ordered self-assembled monolayers, with the phosphonic group coordinated to the surface and alkyl chains tilted from the surface vertical by 43° (C12P) and 27° (C18P). We have electrically characterized these SAMs in nanodevices and found that they act as tunnel barriers, opening the door toward the integration of alkylphosphonic acid//LSMO SAMs into future molecular/organic spintronic devices such as spin OLEDs.

High-Quality Metal–Organic Framework Ultrathin Films for Electronically Active Interfaces

Currently available methodologies arguably lack the exquisite control required for producing metal-organic framework (MOF) thin films of sufficient quality for electronic applications. By directing MOF transfer with self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), we achieve very smooth, homogeneous, highly oriented, ultrathin films across millimeter-scale areas that display moderate conductivity likely due to electron hopping. Here, the SAM is key for directing the transfer thereby enlarging the number and nature of the substrates of choice. We have exploited this versatility to evolve from deposition onto standard Si and Au to nonconventional substrates such as ferromagnetic Permalloy. We believe that this strategy might be useful for the integration of MOFs as active interfaces in electronic devices.

Unveiling Self-Assembled Monolayers' Potential for Molecular Spintronics: Spin Transport at High Voltage

Molecular magnetic tunnel junctions using self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) as tunnel barriers show stable and efficient spin transport properties. Large tunnel magnetoresistance with a flat bias voltage dependence of the magnetoresistance is observed in La(2/3) Sr(1/3) MnO(3) /dodecylphosphonic acid SAM/Co nanocontacts. This opens the door to spintronic tailoring though SAM engineering and could also lead to new venues for spin injection in organic devices.

Self-assembly of an iron(II)-based M5L6 metallosupramolecular cage

A pentanuclear M(5)L(6) coordination cage is self-assembled in solution from a rigid linear heteroditopic phen-tpy ligand and an iron (II) salt.

Illustrating the processability of magnetic layered double hydroxides: layer-by-layer assembly of magnetic ultrathin films.

We report the preparation of single-layer layered double hydroxide (LDH) two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets by exfoliation of highly crystalline NiAl-NO3 LDH. Next, these unilamellar moieties have been incorporated layer-by-layer (LbL) into a poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate)/LDH nanosheet multilayer ultrathin film (UTF). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), ultraviolet-visible light (UV-vis), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) profiles have been used to follow the uniform growth of the UTF. The use of a magnetic LDH as the cationic component of the multilayered architecture enables study of the resulting magnetic properties of the UTFs. Our magnetic data show the appearance of spontaneous magnetization at ∼5 K, thus confirming the effective transfer of the magnetic properties of the bulk LDH to the self-assembled film that displays glassy-like ferromagnetic behavior. The high number of bilayers accessible-more than 80-opens the door for the preparation of more-complex hybrid multifunctional materials that combine magnetism with the physical properties provided by other exfoliable layered inorganic hosts.