Publications [#234070] of Michael J. Therien

Papers Published

1. Koo, J; Park, J; Tronin, A; Zhang, R; Krishnan, V; Strzalka, J; Kuzmenko, I; Fry, HC; Therien, MJ; Blasie, JK, Acentric 2-D ensembles of D-br-A electron-transfer chromophores via vectorial orientation within amphiphilic n-helix bundle peptides for photovoltaic device applications., Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids, vol. 28 no. 6 (February, 2012), pp. 3227-3238 [22242787], [doi]
   (last updated on 2026/01/15)

   Abstract:
   We show that simply designed amphiphilic 4-helix bundle peptides can be utilized to vectorially orient a linearly extended donor-bridge-acceptor (D-br-A) electron transfer (ET) chromophore within its core. The bundle's interior is shown to provide a unique solvation environment for the D-br-A assembly not accessible in conventional solvents and thereby control the magnitudes of both light-induced ET and thermal charge recombination rate constants. The amphiphilicity of the bundle's exterior was employed to vectorially orient the peptide-chromophore complex at a liquid-gas interface, and its ends were tailored for subsequent covalent attachment to an inorganic surface, via a "directed assembly" approach. Structural data, combined with evaluation of the excited state dynamics exhibited by these peptide-chromophore complexes, demonstrate that densely packed, acentrically ordered 2-D monolayer ensembles of such complexes at high in-plane chromophore densities approaching 1/200 Å(2) offer unique potential as active layers in binary heterojunction photovoltaic devices.