Much of the work of the Homogeneous Media thrust group has been directed towards understanding the factors that control the rates of photoinduced electron transfer processes in fluid solution. However, most of the technological applications of photoinduc ed electron transfer take place in the amorphous solid state. We propose some fundamental studies of electron transfer in rigid amorphous solid matrices. The idea is to use the knowledge, and more importantly the spectroscopic tools, that have been deve loped in our prior solution phase studies to determine the effect on electron transfer processes of going from a fluid medium to the solid state. We will extend some of our studies from fluid solution to the solid state, as well as take advantage of the rigidizing effect of the solid state to introduce different techniques. The aim is to define the factors that control the rates of electron transfer reactions, to investigate the importance of energetic disorder, and overall to understand the kinetics o f electron transfer reactions in the solid state.
The solid state system studied, titanyl phthalocyanine in polyvinyl butyral, in our previous Center work, is highly relevant to the electrophotographic system. The work has concentrated on the mechanism of the charge generation process from the initially formed excited states, using external electric field effects as a tool. We propose to continue this aspect of the work, which has obivous practical relevance, and to relate it to the studies of the fundamental factors that control the rate constants of electron transfer reactions in the solid state, described in Part 1 of this project.
Return to Center Homepage.