Molecular photovoltaic system based on fullerenes and carotenoids co-assembled in lipid/alkanethiol hybrid bilayers.

A hybrid molecular photovoltaic system, based on fullerene C(60) and lutein (a natural photosynthetic carotenoid pigment) that are assembled in a phospholipid/alkanethiol bilayer matrix, is described here. The assembly and photoconversion behaviors of such a system were studied by UV-vis spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, impedance spectroscopy, photoelectrochemical action spectroscopy, and photocurrent generation. While lutein itself is inefficient in generating photocurrent, it can strongly modulate photocurrents produced by fullerenes when coassembled in the lipid bilayer matrix presumably via photoinduced electron transfer. Our results thus provide a successful example of combining both synthetic and natural photoactive components in building molecular photovoltaic systems.