ACS Appl Mater. Interfaces 2019, 11(6), pp 5947-5956
Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) attract increased attention for the development of donor-acceptor materials enabling improved light harvesting and optoelectronic applications. The development of novel donor-acceptor nanoensembles consisting of poly(3-thiophene sodium acetate) and ammonium functionalized MoS2 and WS2 was accomplished, while photoelectrochemical cells were fabricated and examined. Attractive interactions between the negatively charged carboxylate anion on the polythiophene backbone and the positively charged ammonium moieties on the TMDs enabled in a controlled way and in aqueous dispersions the electrostatic association of two species, evidenced upon titration experiments. A progressive quenching of the characteristic fluorescence emission of the polythiophene derivative at 555 nm revealed photoinduced intra-ensemble energy and/or electron transfer from the …
