Significant photoelectric conversion properties of multilayer films formed by a cationic zinc phthalocyanine complex and graphene oxide

Abstract

A novel kind of multilayer films consisting of graphene oxide and a cationic zinc phthalocyanine complex (ImZnPc) were fabricated through an electrostatic layer-by-layer self-assembly technique and were characterized using UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. These multilayer films were not only homogeneously formed, but also the complex ImZnPc was absorbed on the surface of GO as a non-aggregative monomolecular film. Under visible light irradiation, these films exhibited significant cathodic photocurrent generation with good stability and reproducibility. Especially, the four-layer film exhibited a very large cathodic photocurrent density of 5.6 μA cm⁻², which makes this novel hybrid thin film a potential material for photoelectric conversion.