Photoelectric properties of chlorophyll and carotene solutions in nematic liquid crystal located between semiconducting electrodes.
The photopotential and photocurrent generation for chlorophyll a, beta-carotene and a mixture of these pigments dissolved in nematic liquid crystal and located between transparent semiconducting electrodes were measured. Both pigments exhibit photopotential and photocurrent generation. From the photocurrent amplitudes it follows that the efficiency of electron transfer to a semiconducting electrode from beta-carotene is higher than from chlorophyll alpha. The photocurrent amplitude of the pigment mixture is slightly lower than that calculated as a sum of amplitudes of pigments located in separated cells. This difference can be explained by secondary effects, such as competition between carotene and chlorophyll molecules in a process of adsorption on a semiconducting electrode. Therefore it seems that no charge transfer complexes of chlorophyll and carotene are formed in the investigated model system.
Ptak
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A
Institute of Physics, Poznań University of Technology, Piotrowo 3, 60-965 Poznań, Poland.
Chrzumnicka
E
E
Planner
A
A
Frackowiak
D
D