Photoelectrocatalytic H₂ evolution in water with molecular catalysts immobilised on p-Si via a stabilising mesoporous TiO₂ interlayer.

ABSTRACT: The development of photoelectrodes capable of light-driven hydrogen evolution from water is an important approach for the storage of solar energy in the form of a chemical energy carrier. However, molecular catalyst-based photocathodes remain scarcely reported and typically suffer from low efficiencies and/or stabilities due to inadequate strategies for interfacing the molecular component with the light-harvesting material. In this study, we report the straightforward preparation of a p-silicon|mesoporous titania|molecular catalyst photocathode assembly that is active towards proton reduction in aqueous media with an onset potential of +0.4 V vs. RHE. The mesoporous TiO₂ scaffold acts as an electron shuttle between the silicon and the catalyst, while also stabilising the

SUBMITTER: Leung JJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5618793 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature