Photon Upconversion on Dye-Sensitized Nanostructured ZrO2 Films

• DOI: 10.1021/jp209774p
• Publication Date: 2011-10-18T19:23:13Z
• Authors: Jonas Sandby Lissau; James M. Gardner; Ana Morandeira
• Keywords: Photon Upconversion; Annihilation; Nanocrystalline material

Photon upconversion based on sensitized triplet–triplet annihilation has been observed nanocrystalline ZrO2 films cosensitized with platinum(II) octaethylporphyrin (triplet sensitizer) and 9,10-diphenylanthracene (singlet emitter) under sunlight-like conditions (noncoherent excitation source, light intensity as low 5 mW/cm2). Time-resolved emission measurements showed a fast rise of the upconverted signal (≤10 ns), suggesting that triplet energy migration most probably occurs through "static" Dexter mechanism. To best our knowledge, this is first observation photon mesoporous metal oxide. Implementation similar systems in dye-sensitized solar cells would increase maximum theoretical efficiency these devices from 30% to over 40%.