ELECTROCHEMISTRY OF EXCITED MOLECULES: PHOTO-ELECTROCHEMICALREACTIONS OF CHLOROPHYLLS. I

Semiconductors with a sufficiently large energy gap, in contact with an electrolyte, can be used as electrodes for the study of electrochemical reactions of excited molecules. The behavior of excited chlorophyll molecules at single crystal ZnO-electrodes has been investigated. These molecules inject electrons from excited levels into the conduction band of the electrode, thus giving rise to an anodic photocurrent. The influence of various agents on this electron transfer has been studied. In the presence of suitable electron donors (e.g., hydroquinone, phenylhydrazine) in the electrolyte chlorophyll molecules, absorbing quanta, mediate the pumping of electrons from levels of the reducing agents into the conduction band of the semiconductor-electron acceptor. The electron capture by the semiconductor electrode is irreversible, when an adequate electrochemical gradient is provided in the electrode surface. An experimental technique for the study of the kinetics of photoelectrochemical reactions of chlorophyll molecules is introduced and a theoretical approach for its calculation is given. Some properties of excited chlorophyll at semiconductor electrodes (unidirectional electron transfer, highly efficient charge separation, chlorophyll as electron pump and able to convert electronic excitation into electric energy) show similarity to the behavior of chlorophyll in photosynthetic reaction centers