Ultrafast photoinduced processes in alizarin-sensitized metal oxide mesoporous films

Close to the edge: Photoexcitation of alizarin coupled to the surface of mesoporous TiO(2) films leads to ultrafast electron transfer to the TiO(2) conduction band (see picture). Complex kinetics after photoexcitation depend on the excitation energy, and indicate a position of the alizarin excited state close to the TiO(2) conduction band edge, where the density of acceptor states is reduced. The photoinduced dynamics in Al(2)O(3) and TiO(2) mesoporous films sensitized by the strongly coupled alizarin dye is investigated by femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy in the spectral range from UV to mid-IR. Alizarin/Al(2)O(3) acts as a nonreactive reference system, in which no electron transfer is observed. For comparison, the photoexcitation of the alizarin dye coupled to the surface of TiO(2) films leads to ultrafast electron transfer from the dye to the TiO(2) conduction band on the sub-100-fs timescale. We observe a fast relaxation of the alizarin excited state as well as a fast recombination of injected electrons with the alizarin cation on the picosecond timescale, which gives rise to very complex kinetics at short delay times. The infrared measurements clearly indicate that trapping of injected electrons is the main mechanism responsible for the observed long-lived charge separation in TiO(2) mesoporous films. The experimental findings can be explained by a position of the dye excited state close to the conduction band edge.