Carbonyl functionalization strategy to overcome easy agglomeration in porphyrin

Abstract

Porphyrin occupies an extremely important position in the field of photocatalysis owing to its excellent photocatalytic performance. However, porphyrin monomers are easily aggregated, which limits the practical applications of porphyrin. Therefore, in this study, a carbonyl functionalization strategy was used to solve the problem of easy agglomeration. The effectiveness of the carbonyl functionalization strategy was demonstrated using high-resolution field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM). At the same time, 2Zn exhibited good transient photocurrent intensity (∼44 μA cm⁻²) and photogenerated electron lifetimes (14.9 ps and 12.4 ps at absorption wavelengths of 449 nm and 550 nm, respectively). A low dosage of 2Zn (5 mg) led to a Cr(VI) reduction efficiency of 90% (the initial concentration of Cr(VI) was 40 mg L⁻¹). Under weak alkaline conditions, Cr(VI) reduction efficiency reached 90.2% as in acidic environments. Moreover, after eight cycles of experimentation, the reduction efficiency loss of Cr(VI) was less than 1%, which indicates it has excellent stability. This study solves the easy agglomeration issue of porphyrin during photocatalysis and provides a new approach for developing more economical and efficient porphyrin photocatalysts.