Investigation on semiconducting properties of hypericin films

• Grant number: 19/05733-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2019
• End date: May 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Inorganic Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Grégoire Jean-François Demets
• Grantee: Giovanni Batista de Santana Dias
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The proposal suggests the investigation of the electrical and electrochemical properties of hypericin (HyH) in the form of films over conducting glass substrates, in the presence and in the absence of light. The work involves the characterization of the aggregates formed by casting from HyH solutions, as follows: electronic structure, conductivity and photoconductivity. Furthermore, our aim is to gather information about the charge carriers involved in an eventual electron conduction mechanism by electrochemical techniques as impedance spectroscopy, and to know how they are affected by light. Additional experiments will investigate their photo electrocatalytic potential towards oxygen reduction. These data are the first step to glimpse its use in devices like OLEDs and ChemFETs.