150567 20251017144649.0 doi 10.3390/ma18020463 sideral 142646 ART-2025-142646 eng Ansón-Casaos, Alejandro Hybrids of Deep HOMO Organic Cyanoacrylic Acid Dyes and Graphene Nanomaterials for Water Splitting Photoanodes 2025 Access copy available to the general public Unrestricted Dye-sensitization is a promising strategy to improve the light absorption and photoactivity abilities of wide-bandgap semiconductors, like TiO2. For effective water-splitting photoanodes with no sacrificial agents, the electrochemical potential of the dye must exceed the thermodynamic threshold needed for the oxygen evolution reaction. This study investigates two promising organic cyanoacrylic dyes, designed to meet that criterion by means of theoretical calculations. Both yellow-colored dyes were synthesized and characterized by optical and photoelectrochemical techniques, demonstrating strong light absorption in the visible region, suitable experimental reduction potentials, and adsorption from the organic solvent onto mesoporous TiO2 layers. In addition, to promote immobilization in aqueous electrolytes, the dyes were hybridized with graphene oxide or multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Photoelectrochemical analysis of the dye-sensitized photoelectrodes demonstrated efficient charge transfer from the dyes to the TiO2 photoanode under simulated solar light. While the starting photocurrent notably surpassed the blank TiO2, a subsequent decay points to kinetic obstacles that still need to be overcome. info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/AEI/CEX2023-001286-S info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/E47-23R info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/T03-23R info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/PID2022-139671OB-I00 info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/UZ/UZ2023-CIE-01 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess by https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.es info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Benito, Ana M. Maser, Wolfgang K. Orduna, Jesús (orcid)0000-0003-3514-2570 Villacampa, Belén Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0001-9814-0834 Blesa, María-Jesús Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0001-7193-1732 2013 765 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Química Orgánica Área Química Orgánica 2003 395 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Física Materia Condensa. Área Física Materia Condensada 18, 2 (2025), 463 [9 pp.] Materials (Basel) Materials 1996-1944 1520427 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/150567/files/texto_completo.pdf Versión publicada 2626173 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/150567/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon icon Versión publicada oai:zaguan.unizar.es:150567 articulos driver 2025-10-17-14:35:30 ARTICLE