Donor-Acceptor Conjugated Acetylenic Polymers for High- Performance Bifunctional Photoelectrodes
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Contributors
Abstract
Due to the drastic required thermodynamical requirements, a photoelectrode material that can function as both a photocathode and a photoanode remains elusive. In this work, we demonstrate for the first time that, under simulated solar light and without co-catalysts, donor-acceptor conjugated acetylenic polymers (CAPs) exhibit both impressive oxygen evolution (OER) and hydrogen evolution (HER) photocurrents in alkaline and neutral medium, respectively. In particular, poly(2,4,6-tris(4-ethynylphenyl)-1,3,5-triazine) (pTET) provides a benchmark OER photocurrent density of ~200 μA cm−2 at 1.23 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) at pH 13 and a remarkable HER photocurrent density of ~190 μA cm−2 at 0.3 V vs. RHE at pH 6.8. By combining theoretical investigations and electrochemical-operando Resonance Raman spectroscopy, we show that the OER proceeds with two different mechanisms, with the electron-depleted triple bonds acting as single-site OER in combination with the C4-C5 atoms of the phenyl rings as dual sites. The HER, instead, occurs via an electron transfer from the tri-acetylenic linkages to the triazine rings, which act as the HER active sites. This work represents a novel application of organic-based materials and contributes to the development of high-performance photoelectrochemical catalysts for the solar fuels’ generation.
Details
Original language | English |
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Article number | e202301170 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | ChemSusChem |
Volume | 17 |
Issue number | 7 |
Early online date | 18 Dec 2023 |
Publication status | Published - 8 Apr 2024 |
Peer-reviewed | Yes |
External IDs
Scopus | 85180001177 |
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Keywords
Research priority areas of TU Dresden
Subject groups, research areas, subject areas according to Destatis
Sustainable Development Goals
Keywords
- bifunctional photoelectrodes, conjugated polymers, hydrogen evolution, oxygen evolution, resonance Raman, Conjugated polymers, Hydrogen Evolution, Oxygen evolution, Resonance Raman, bifunctional photoelectrodes