Structural and photophysical studies of few layers of reduced graphene oxide functionalized with Sn(IV) tetrakis (4-pyridyl)porphyrin dichloride

Abstract

Reduced graphene oxide has attracted great interest owing to its exceptional properties, and its combination with Porphyrins has many potential applications in optoelectronics, light emitting diodes and dye-sensitized solar cells, because of the long excited-state lifetimes and delocalizable electron density on the porphyrin. Few layers of reduced graphene oxide (FRGO) were synthesized and functionalized with Sn(IV) tetrakis(4-pyridyl) porphyrin dichloride (SnTPyP2+). The structural and photophysical properties of the solution-cast thin films prepared from this composite were investigated by means of Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman scattering, FT-Infrared, UV–vis absorption, steady state Photoluminescence (PL), and time resolved PL (TR-PL). The results showed strong interactions between these hybrids components and successful deposition of the porphyrin on the FRGO layers. Moreover, a steady state PL quenching of the SnTPyP2+-FRGO composite film indicated an important interaction suggesting a photoinduced electron transfer between SnTPyP2+ and FRGO. The TR-PL measurements of the photogenerated charges lifetimes showed major change for the SnTPyP2+ after its interaction with the FRGO, resulting in a decrease in the PL mean lifetime.