EDITORIAL pubs.acs.org/JPCL
Meeting the Challenges of Energy Sustainability or analyses of π-electron populations. Porphyrin-derived molecular systems are extensively employed in designing assemblies for artificial photosynthesis. The spectroscopic tools discussed in this Perspective will be useful in characterizing the electronic characteristics of such complex systems. In the second Perspective, Venkataraman and co-workers2 discuss the role of molecular architecture and packing on the morphology of organic photovoltaic devices. The intermolecular interaction and the packing propensities of the π-conjugated moieties dictate whether conjugated polymer and PCBM derivatives form bulk heterojunctions or macrophase segregate upon continued annealing. The authors point out that basic understanding of the relationship among photovoltaic metrics, molecular architecture, packing, and intermolecular interactions is important for the design of efficient organic photovoltaic cells. In a previously published perspective, Zhu and coworkers3 focused on the origins of intrinsic charge carrier traps in organic and polymeric semiconductor materials. Recent Letters also highlight spectroscopic characterization, photoinduced charge separation, and photocurrent generation of different types of organic photovoltaic systems.4-9 The Perspectives in the present issue, as well as those planned for future issues, will highlight issues related to the energy challenge. Many of these perspectives are accompanied by video interviews (http://pubs.acs.org/page/jpclcd/video/perspectives.html). We hope the frontier research disseminated through J. Phys. Chem. Lett. will continue to be a valuable resource to our readership.
The major theme of the Spring 2010 American Chemical Society National Meeting in San Francisco is “Chemistry for a Sustainable World.” The venue fittingly represents the host city's commitment to sustainability. For example, the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco houses one of the nation's largest municipally owned solar generation installations. As our day-to-day activities become increasingly dependent on energy-consuming devices, the importance of energy sustainability also increases. Whether it is century-old lead acid batteries or present-day lithium ion batteries, electrochemical energy storage controls our ability to use everything from modern cars to cell phones. Time has come to join hands and employ multidisciplinary approaches to tackle the challenges of sustainable energy. The multidisciplinary symposia planned at the spring ACS meeting will serve as a platform to discuss these challenges. Of particular interest at this year's meeting is the symposium on sustainable energy, which will present invited lectures on the topics of solar energy, batteries, fuel cells, and high-energy fuel storage.
The multidisciplinary symposia planned at the spring ACS meeting will serve as a platform to discuss interests and challenges of energy sustainability and will include invited lectures on the topics of solar energy, batteries, fuel cells, and high-energy fuel storage.
Prashant V. Kamat Deputy Editor University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
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The discipline of physical chemistry has been at the forefront of exploring new approaches for energy and chemical conversion and providing mechanistic insights of these processes. Many of these topics have been extensively discussed in the Feature articles, Virtual issues and Perspectives in J. Phys. Chem. A/B/C and Lett. (see, for example, http://pubs. acs.org/journal/jpclcd). In this issue, as well as in the next few issues, we will present Perspective articles that specifically focus on some of the fundamental issues and challenges that we face in developing next-generation solar cells, storage batteries, and fuel cells. The first Perspective in this issue discusses new spectroscopic tools that can be used to define antiaromatic systems and distinguish them from their corresponding aromatic congeners.1 By employing expanded porphyrins as model systems, Kim, Sessler, and their co-workers suggest spectroscopy tools for probing the electronic features of complex molecular systems for which a number of potential electronic states can be envisioned on the basis of simple line formulas
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Cho, S.; Yoon, Z. S.; Kim, K. S.; Cho, D.-G.; Yoon, M.-C.; Sessler, J.; Kim, D. Defining Spectroscopic Features of Heteroannulenic Antiaromatic Porphyrinoids. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2010, 1, 895–900. Venkataraman, D.; Yurt, S.; Venkatraman, B. H.; Gavvalapalli, N. The Role of Molecular Architecture in Organic Photovoltaic Cells. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2010, 1, 947-958. Kaake, L. G.; Barbara, P. F.; Zhu, X. Y. Intrinsic Charge Trapping in Organic and Polymeric Semiconductors: A Physical Chemistry Perspective. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2010, 1, 628–635. Guo, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Liu, H.; Lai, S.-W.; Li, Y.; Li, Y.; Hu, W.; Wang, S.; Che, C.-M.; Zhu, D. Assembled Organic/Inorganic p-n Junction Interface and Photovoltaic Cell on a Single Nanowire. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2010, 1, 327–330. Lin, F.; Walker, E. M.; Lonergan, M. C. Photochemical Doping of an Adaptive Mix-Conducting p-n Junction. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2010, 1, 720–723.
Received Date: February 19, 2010 Accepted Date: February 19, 2010 Published on Web Date: March 18, 2010
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DOI: 10.1021/jz100235r |J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2010, 1, 1018–1019
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Atienzar, P.; Ishwara, T.; Illy, B. N.; Ryan, M. P.; O'Regan, B. C.; Durrant, J. R.; Nelson, J. Control of Photocurrent Generation in Polymer/ZnO Nanorod Solar Cells by Using a Solution-Processed TiO2 Overlayer. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2010, 1, 708–713. Gao, Y.; Martin, T. P.; Thomas, A. K.; Grey, J. K. Resonance Raman Spectroscopic and Photocurrent Imaging of Polythiophene/Fullerene Solar Cells. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2010, 1, 178– 182. Keivanidis, P. E.; Clarke, T. M.; Lilliu, S.; Agostinelli, T.; Macdonald, J. E.; Durrant, J. R.; Bradley, D. D. C.; Nelson, J. Dependence of Charge Separation Efficiency on Film Microstructure in Poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl):[6,6]-Phenyl-C61 Butyric Acid Methyl Ester Blend Films. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2010, 1, 734–738. Kaake, L. G.; Paulsen, B. D.; Frisbie, C. D.; Zhu, X. Y. Mixing at the Charged Interface of a Polymer Semiconductor and a Polyelectrolyte Dielectric. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2010, 1, 862– 867.
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DOI: 10.1021/jz100235r |J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2010, 1, 1018–1019
