Issue 9, 2011

Organic semiconductor for artificial photosynthesis: water splitting into hydrogen by a bioinspired C3N3S3polymer under visible light irradiation

Abstract

A novel organic semiconductor photocatalyst mimicking natural light-harvesting antenna complexes in photosynthetic organisms, a disulfide (–S–S–) bridged C3N3S3polymer, was designed and developed to generate hydrogen from water under visible light irradiation. The artificial conjugated polymer shows high H2-producing activity from the half-reaction of water splitting without the aid of a sacrificial electron donor. The H2-producing efficiency and photo-stability of the catalyst could be improved greatly using Ru and single-wall carbon nanotubes as cocatalysts or by adding a sacrificial donor. The results represent a potential and prospective application of the C3N3S3polymer in solar energy conversion and offer significant guidance to develop more stable and efficient photocatalytic systems based on organic semiconductors.

Graphical abstract: Organic semiconductor for artificial photosynthesis: water splitting into hydrogen by a bioinspired C3N3S3polymer under visible light irradiation

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
25 Apr 2011
Accepted
08 Jun 2011
First published
24 Jun 2011

Chem. Sci., 2011,2, 1826-1830

Organic semiconductor for artificial photosynthesis: water splitting into hydrogen by a bioinspired C3N3S3polymer under visible light irradiation

Z. Zhang, J. Long, L. Yang, W. Chen, W. Dai, X. Fu and X. Wang, Chem. Sci., 2011, 2, 1826 DOI: 10.1039/C1SC00257K

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