Effect of Fullerene on Photocurrent Performance of 6‐O‐Porphyrin‐2,3‐di‐O‐stearoylcellulose Langmuir‐Blodgett Films

Thin films consisting of 6‐O‐porphyrin‐2,3‐di‐O‐stearoylcellulose (H₂PCS) and fullerene (C₆₀) were fabricated for anodic photocurrent generation systems by the Langmuir‐Blodgett (LB) technique. The π‐complexation between the porphyrin moiety and C₆₀ in the LB films was investigated by means of the surface pressure (π)‐area (A) isotherms, UV‐vis, and fluorescence spectroscopy. The photocurrent density generated from the H₂PCS–C₆₀ LB monolayer films exhibited an increase with increasing the C₆₀ proportion and reached a maximum at a mixing ratio of 1:2, yielding a quantum yield of 12.5% and an IPCE (incident photon‐to‐current efficiency) of 0.50% at a bias potential of +100 mV vs. SCE. Furthermore, the LB five‐layer films could give rise to the IPCE value of 1.5% at +100 mV without significant decline of the quantum yields, which was due to the function of C₆₀ as an electron carrier to improve the interlayer electron transfer through each layer. These results have demonstrated a promising method for preparing the donor–acceptor systems using cellulose as a scaffold in the LB films.