Light-induced charge separation at sensitized sol-gel processed semiconductors

The photophysical properties of molecular sensitizers incorporated within sol-gel processed wide-bandgap semiconductors are reviewed. Excited-state interfacial electron transfer in sensitized colloids and colloidal films provides a basis for the conversion of photons into potential energy. Sol-gel processed materials with high transparency in the visible region allow charge separation and recombination processes to be quantified spectroscopically. The yields and dynamics of these processes are reviewed for a wide variety of sensitizer-semiconductor assemblies. Implications for solar energy conversion and other molecular device applications are discussed.