Fang Yuanxing, Xu Yuntao, Li Xiaochun, Ma Yiwen, Wang Xinchen
State Key Laboratory of Photocatalysis on Energy and Environment, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, 350002, P. R. China.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2018 Jul 26;57(31):9749-9753. doi: 10.1002/anie.201804530. Epub 2018 Jul 4.
Polymeric carbon nitride (PCN) photosensitizers are proposed replacements for their inorganic counterparts in solar-to-fuel conversion via photoelectrochemical water splitting. However, intense charge recombination, primarily because of surface defects, limits the use of PCN in PEC systems. Now, photoanodes are designed by coating PCN films onto highly conductive yttrium-doped zinc oxide (Y:ZnO) nanorods (NRs) serving as charge collectors. The generation of charge carriers can therefore be promoted by this type II alignment. The charge collectors would be kept nearby for charge separation and transport to be used in the interfacial redox reactions. The photocurrent density of the polymer electrode is improved to 0.4 mA cm at 1.23 V vs. the reversible hydrogen electrode in a Na SO electrolyte solution under AM 1.5 illumination. The result reveals a more than 50-fold enhancement over the PCN films achieved by powder; the efficiency can be preserved at 95 % for 160 minutes.
聚合物氮化碳（PCN）光敏剂被提议作为无机光敏剂的替代品，用于通过光电化学水分解实现太阳能到燃料的转化。然而，主要由于表面缺陷导致的强烈电荷复合限制了PCN在光电化学（PEC）系统中的应用。现在，通过将PCN薄膜涂覆在用作电荷收集器的高导电性钇掺杂氧化锌（Y:ZnO）纳米棒（NRs）上设计光阳极。因此，这种II型排列可以促进电荷载流子的产生。电荷收集器将保持在附近，用于电荷分离和传输，以用于界面氧化还原反应。在AM 1.5光照下，在Na₂SO₄电解质溶液中，相对于可逆氢电极，聚合物电极在1.23 V时的光电流密度提高到0.4 mA cm⁻²。结果表明，与粉末状PCN薄膜相比，增强了50倍以上；在160分钟内，效率可以保持在95%。
