On Trapping Porphyrin Free-Bases Between Graphene Oxide Plates

A synergistic combination of properties between graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets and porphyrin molecules has been accomplished via the entrapment of the latter species within the pore space formed by parallel plates of the carbon material. A hybrid material, synthesized in this manner, would likely lead to the development of efficient photovoltaic cells, given the high capacity of porphyrin molecules to absorb sunlight or radiation of wavelength shorter than 700 nm as well as because of the excellent electron conduction and fine solar energy capture that can be achieved by the graphene substrate. Herein, materials consisting of trapped porphyrin molecules in-between GO plates have been prepared to develop preliminary solar cell devices for an efficient capture of sunlight energy. The hybrid systems created this way can be physicochemically characterized through diverse techniques, which include fluorescence emission to confirm and avail both the presence and manifest luminescent characteristics of the tetrapyrrolic species that are captured and retained in-between GO plates.