Ultrafast charge transfer dynamics of Rhodamine B with graphene oxide

Graphene and its derivatives, due to their two-dimensional carbon nanostructures, have provided new opportunities to fortify organic dye-based photovoltaic and photocatalytic assemblies. In this article, we employed organic dyes Rhodamine B (RdB) and graphene oxide (GO) [or reduced graphene oxide (RGO)] to assemble the composite materials RdB-GO and RdB-RGO. It was found that both GO and RGO could strongly quench the fluorescence (FL) intensity of RdB. The mechanisms of FL quenching in both RdB-GO and RdB-RGO have been investigated by using femtosecond fluorescence up-conversion and transient absorption spectroscopy. When RdB was anchored on the GO (or RGO) surface, the solvent relaxation component 3.1 ps of pure RdB disappeared; instead, the ultrafast excited state electron transfer process (1-2ps) in RdB-GO and RdB-RGO was found and originated from the LUMO of RdB to the conduction band of GO (or RGO). We further reveal that the energy level change caused by GO reduction makes the energy levels of RGO closer to those of RdB, resulting in the electron transfer being more effective in RdB-RGO. Therefore, the RdB-RGO composite materials may have higher application values for dye-sensitized solar cells.