Dynamics of ultrafast photoinduced heterogeneous electron transfer, implications for recent solar energy conversion scenarios

The general case of a heterogeneous electron transfer reaction is realized by ultrafast electron transfer from a photo-excited molecule to a wide continuum of electronic acceptor states. Two different theoretical model calculations addressing the injection dynamics have recently been presented. The first scenario predicts a wide energy distribution for the injected electron via excitations of high-energy vibrational modes in the ionized molecule, whereas the second scenario ascribes the width to thermal fluctuations. We present experimental data at different temperatures and identify the valid injection scenario for perylene/TiO2 systems. The results are discussed in view of recent solar energy conversion scenarios.