Structure and Energetics of Dye-Sensitized NiO Interfaces in Water from Ab Initio MD and Large-Scale GW Calculations

The energy-level alignment across solvated molecule/semiconductor interfaces is a crucial property for the correct functioning of dye-sensitized photoelectrodes, where, following the absorption of solar light, a cascade of interfacial hole/electron transfer processes has to efficiently take place. In light of the difficulty of performing X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements at the molecule/solvent/metal-oxide interface, being able to accurately predict the level alignment by first-principles calculations on realistic structural models would represent an important step toward the optimization of the device. In this respect, dye/NiO surfaces, employed in p-type dye-sensitized solar cells, are undoubtedly challenging for ab initio methods and, also for this reason, much less investigated than the n-type dye/TiO2 counterpart. Here, we consider the C343-sensitized NiO surface in water and combine ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations with GW (G(0)W(0)) calculations, performed along the MD trajectory to reliably describe the structure and energetics of the interface when explicit solvation and finite temperature effects are accounted for. We show that the differential perturbative correction on the NiO and molecule states obtained at the GW level is mandatory to recover the correct (physical) interfacial energetics, allowing hole transfer from the semiconductor valence band to the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of the dye. Moreover, the calculated average driving force quantitatively agrees with the experimental estimate.

Automated summary

Level alignment plays a crucial role in dye-sensitized photoelectrodes. Accurately predicting the interface structure through first-principles calculations is crucial for optimizing the device. By combining experimental and computational methods, this study successfully describes the structure and level alignment of the C343-sensitized NiO surface in water.