Interfacial aggregation behavior of novel carbazole-based composite Langmuir-Blodgett films for photoelectric conversion and catalytic performance

The development of multifunctional film materials from novel organic small molecules has attracted the attention of researchers. In this study, novel carbazole organic molecules (CS-14, CS-38 and CS-39) were successfully composited with TsNiPc and TPPS subphases into multilayer films by LB technology. The nanostructure and morphology of the composite films were successfully assembled and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). In addition, the stability of the composite film was proved by UV–vis spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results demonstrate that Langmuir films are transferred to the surface of substrates in different aggregated morphologies. In addition, the self-assembled LB film electrodes exhibit excellent photoelectrochemical performance. The photoelectric conversion of the multilayer films transferred to ITO (indium tin oxide) was tested, and CS-38/TsNiPc Langmuir film exhibits a stronger photoelectric conversion effect. The electrolysis reaction of LB films to water was also tested. Further analysis shows that the composite films with TsNiPc as the subphase all showed better catalytic performance than the composite films with TPPS as the subphase. Therefore, the prepared LB film has the potential to become an optoelectronic functional ultrathin film device. [Display omitted] •Develop novel carbazole-based organic molecule composite Langmuir-Blodget films.•Demonstrate the photoelectric conversion and catalytic performance.•Self-assembled film showed high photoelectric conversion efficiency.•Potential applications in optoelectronic functional device.