Electrochemical properties of inverse-OpalPhotonic-crystal electrodes

A photonic crystal, which is the periodic structure on the scale of the optical wavelength, can control the propagation of particular wavelengths of light, birefringence and anisotropic dispersion, and change of group velocity of the light. In recent years, taking advantage of these characteristics, various devices are envisioned. However, there are few reports on the chemical applications of photonic crystals. We have demonstrated that the introduction of an inverse-opal photonic crystal to a dye-sensitized photoelectrode inhibited the spontaneous emission from the dye, resulting in an increase in photon-to-electron conversion efficiency per mol of dye. In this presentation, we would like to report the impedance characterization of our photonic-crystal electrode.