Microwave assisted synthesis of a series of charge-transfer photosensitizers having quinoxaline-2(1H)-one as anchoring group onto TiO2 surface

In this work, we present the synthesis of novel donor-acceptor compounds based on 3-methylquinoxaline-2(1H)one which follow an easy synthetic route, involving Knoevenagel reaction with electron-donor groups such as N,N-dimethylaminobenzene, ferrocene, triphenylamine (TPA) and ((E)-4,4'-(ethene-1,2-diyl) bis (N,N-diphenylaniline). Additionally, the optical properties were measured by means of the absorption and emission spectroscopy suggesting a push-pull behavior which was further confirmed by electrochemical experiments. Finally, the quinoxaline-2(1H)one fragment not only bestow wide absorption, but also can chelate to titanium ions on the TiO2 surface, allowing a strong electron coupling between the excited-state energy level of the dyes and the conduction band of TiO2. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.