Structural and photophysical studies of few layers of reduced graphene oxide functionalized with Sn(IV) tetrakis (4-pyridyl)porphyrin dichloride

Reduced graphene oxide has attracted great interest owing to its exceptional properties, and its combination with Porphyrins has many potential applications in optoelectronics, light emitting diodes and dye-sensitized solar cells, because of the long excited-state lifetimes and delocalizable electron density on the porphyrin. Few layers of reduced graphene oxide (FRGO) were synthesized and functionalized with Sn(IV) tetrakis(4-pyridyl) porphyrin dichloride (SnTPyP 2+ ). The structural and photophysical properties of the solution-cast thin films prepared from this composite were investigated by means of Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman scattering, FT-Infrared, UV–vis absorption, steady state Photoluminescence (PL), and time resolved PL (TR-PL). The results showed strong interactions between these hybrids components and successful deposition of the porphyrin on the FRGO layers. Moreover, a steady state PL quenching of the SnTPyP 2+ -FRGO composite film indicated an important interaction suggesting a photoinduced electron transfer between SnTPyP 2+ and FRGO. The TR-PL measurements of the photogenerated charges lifetimes showed major change for the SnTPyP 2+ after its interaction with the FRGO, resulting in a decrease in the PL mean lifetime.