Organic Semiconductor/Carbon Dot Composites for Highly Efficient Hydrogen and Hydrogen Peroxide Coproduction from Water Photosplitting

Abstract

Coproduction of hydrogen (H 2 ) and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) from water splitting is one of the most promising ways to alleviate the energy crisis and environmental pollution. Here, we first show the synthesis and photocatalytic property of an organic semiconductor (DAnTMS compound) from 9,10-dibromoanthracene and trimethylsilylacetylene. Then, a metal-free photocatalyst of a DAnTMS/carbon dot (DAnTMS/CD) composite was designed and fabricated, which achieved the efficient photocatalytic production of H 2 and H 2 O 2 without usage of any organic solvents and sacrificial agents. Under visible light, the DAnTMS/CD composite could produce H 2 O 2 with a maximum rate of 396.7 μmol g −1 h −1 and H 2 with a maximum rate of 265.0 μmol g −1 h −1 in pure water. Transient photovoltage tests showed that CDs changed the interfacial electron transfer kinetics and served as the active site for highly efficient H 2 evolution. This work provided a deep insight into the function of CDs in regulating the catalytic property of organic photocatalysts.

Diversity and Tailorability of Photoelectrochemical Properties of Carbon Dots

“…15A). Considering the tunable features and mediation effect of CDs, we also successfully developed several novel composite systems based on the coupling of CDs with nonmetal organic semiconductors, 62 polyaniline, 63 and polyvinylpyrrolidone 64 for various applications.…”

“…The sufficient proximity nature between the H 2 O 2 generation sites on the C 3 N 4 surface and CDs enabled the efficient H 2 O 2 decomposition and O 2 generation in the successive reaction (Figure A). Considering the tunable features and mediation effect of CDs, we also successfully developed several novel composite systems based on the coupling of CDs with nonmetal organic semiconductors, polyaniline, and polyvinylpyrrolidone for various applications.…”

Enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide production activity of imine-linked covalent organic frameworksviamodification with functional groups

“…Compared with the “classical” photosynthesis process used to produce H 2 , liquid H 2 O 2 is easy to store and transport. 7 Typically, a number of available semiconductor photocatalysts including TiO 2 , 5 g-C 3 N 4 , 1 CdS, 8 organic semiconductors, 9 metal organic frameworks (MOFs), 10 and covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have been proposed for photocatalytic H 2 O 2 production. 11 Despite substantial research over the past few years, research on photocatalytic H 2 O 2 production is still in its infancy.…”

A carbon dot-based metal-free photocatalyst enables O2 to serve as both a reactant and electron sink for enhancing H2O2 photoproduction

“…Carbon dots (CDs), which have been proven to promote the performance of photocatalysis and electrocatalysis systems, [28][29][30][31] have the ability to enhance light absorption, accelerate the separation of electrons and holes and improve the surface catalysis effect. [32][33][34][35][36] In the previous study by our group, we combined CDs with several materials, such as sulde (SnS 2 / In 2 S 3 /CDs) 37 and phosphide (CoP/CDs).…”