PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION FROM A NITROBENZENE DYE MONOLAYER MODIFIED ITO ELECTRODE

An amphiphilic nitrobenzene dye (C18H37)(2)N-C6H4-CH=N-NH-C6H4-NO2 has been synthesized and deposited on semiconducting transparent indium-t in oxide (ITO) electrodes by a Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique. Photo current generation was studied in a conventional photoelectrochemical cell. An action spectrum of the photocurrent generation is coincident with the absorption spectrum of the LB film-modified electrode, indica ting that the dye aggregate in the LB film is responsible for the phot ocurrent. Some factors which may affect the observed photocurrent, suc h as the presence of O-2, the concentration of methyl violet (MV2+), a nd hydroquinone (H(2)Q), pH and the bias voltage have been investigate d, Models for the mechanism of photocurrent generation under different conditions are proposed.