Abstract: Nanoporous TiO₂ electrodes were sensitized by different porphyrin derivatives, terahydro- xyphenyl porphyrin(THPP) and teracarboxylphenyl porphyrin(TCPP). Both kinds of the sensitized electrodes were characterized by UV-Vis, FTIR and XPS. The results show that the interaction between TiO₂ and TCPP was stronger than that between TiO₂ and THPP. Under the same soaking conditions the amount of TCPP adsorbed by TiO₂ electrode was more than that of THPP adsorbed by TiO₂ electrode. Both kinds of the sensitized electrodes were assembled to photoelectrochemical cells. The photocurrent responses of the photoelectrochemical cell under different illumination directions were studied. Calculated from the current-voltage curve of photoelectrochemical cells, the overall light-to-electric energy conversion yield(η) of TCPP-sensitized cell was 0.13%, while the conversion efficiency of THPP-sensitized cell was 0.06%.

Key words: Porphyrin derivatives, Nanoporous TiO₂ film electrodes, Photocurrent action spectra, Total light-to-electric energy conversion yield(η)