Nanostructured Semiconductor Materials for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Figure 8

Depiction of the mechanism of photoactivated et from -type NiO to H⁺ mediated by the multifunctional dye-sensitizer PMI-4T-TPA for the production of H₂ fuel. The organic dye is immobilized onto NiO surface through the carboxylic group (in blue). The dye-sensitizer acts as electron donor (through the PMI moiety, in red) towards the molecular cocatalyst Mo₃S₄ and behaves as electron acceptor towards NiO. The hydrophobic hexyl groups (in blue) exert a blocking effect against the direct discharge of H⁺ onto bare NiO cathode, adapted from [280].