Abstract
Polyoxometalates (POMs) form a versatile family of molecular oxide clusters of the early transition metals, endowed with exceptional redox properties, which have driven applications in photo/electrocatalysis, photo/electrochromic materials, energy conversion/storage and data processing systems. These applications rely on controlled electron transfer reactions, which are governed not only by thermodynamics but also by environmental and charge compensation effects. POMs are multi-sensitive, redox- and optically-active molecular polyanions, whose associated counter cations introduce an additional chemical variable. As such, POMs offer a unique platform for studying energy-level modulation and cation mediation in electron transfer or transport. I will discuss (i) how we are able to tune the kinetics of photo-induced electron transfer in polyoxometalate-photosensitiser dyads in the context of artificial photosynthesis [1,2] and (ii) how we are exploring the translation of POM multifunctionality in solid-state molecular junctions towards nanoelectronic applications [3,4].
