Light-Driven Water Oxidation Using Polyelectrolyte Layer-by-Layer Chromophore–Catalyst Assemblies
- Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States)
- Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC (United States)
Layer-by-Layer (LbL) polyelectrolyte self-assembly occurs by the alternate exposure of a substrate to solutions of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes or polyions. Here, we report the application of LbL to construct chromophore–catalyst assemblies consisting of a cationic polystyrene-based Ru polychromophore (PS-Ru) and a [Ru(tpy)(2-pyridyl-N-methylbenzimidazole) (OH2)]2+ water oxidation catalyst (RuC), codeposited with poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) as an inert polyanion. These assemblies are deposited onto planar indium tin oxide (ITO, Sn:In2O3) substrates for electrochemical characterization and onto mesoporous substrates consisting of a SnO2/TiO2 core/shell structure atop fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) for application to light-driven water oxidation in a dye-sensitized photoelectrosynthesis cell. Cyclic voltammetry and ultraviolet–visible absorption spectroscopy reveal that multilayer deposition progressively increases the film thickness on ITO glass substrates. Under an applied bias, photocurrent measurements of the (PAA/PS-Ru)5/(PAA/RuC)5 LbL films formed on FTO//SnO2/TiO2 mesoporous core–shell electrodes demonstrate a clear anodic photocurrent response. Prolonged photoelectrolysis experiments, with the use of a dual working electrode collector–generator cell, reveal production of O2 from the illuminated photoanode with a Faradaic efficiency of 22%. Finally, this is the first report to demonstrate the use of polyelectrolyte LbL to construct chromophore–catalyst assemblies for water oxidation.
- Research Organization:
- Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for Solar Fuels (UNC EFRC)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0001011
- OSTI ID:
- 1387883
- Journal Information:
- ACS Energy Letters, Vol. 1, Issue 2; Related Information: UNC partners with University of North Carolina (lead); Duke University; University of Florida; Georgia Institute of Technology; University; North Carolina Central University; Research Triangle Institute; ISSN 2380-8195
- Publisher:
- American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
Layer-by-layer assembly for photoelectrochemical nanoarchitectonics
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journal | January 2019 |
Inorganic Photochemistry and Solar Energy Harvesting: Current Developments and Challenges to Solar Fuel Production
|
journal | January 2019 |
Polymer-based chromophore–catalyst assemblies for solar energy conversion
|
journal | December 2017 |
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Related Subjects
catalysis (homogeneous)
catalysis (heterogeneous)
solar (photovoltaic)
solar (fuels)
photosynthesis (natural and artificial)
hydrogen and fuel cells
electrodes - solar
charge transport
materials and chemistry by design
synthesis (novel materials)
synthesis (self-assembly)