Distance dependent energy transfer dynamics from a molecular donor to a zeolitic imidazolate framework acceptor

Phys Chem Chem Phys. 2020 Nov 18;22(44):25445-25449. doi: 10.1039/d0cp03995k.

Abstract

Zeolitic Imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) have been demonstrated as promising light harvesting and photocatalytic materials for solar energy conversion. To facilitate their application in photocatalysis, it is essential to develop a fundamental understanding of their light absorption properties and energy transfer dynamics. In this work, we report distance-dependent energy transfer dynamics from a molecular photosensitizer (RuN3) to ZIF-67, where the distance between RuN3 and ZIF-67 is finely tuned by depositing an ultrathin Al2O3 layer on the ZIF-67 surface using an atomic layer deposition (ALD) method. We show that energy transfer time decreases with increasing distance between RuN3 and ZIF-67 and the Förster radius is estimated to be 14.4 nm.