PtCu Alloy-Modified Triptycene-Based Polymer with Charge Separation for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution from Water/Seawater

Abstract

Direct photocatalytic hydrogen from earth-abundant seawater is a great potential way to achieve sustainable and clean energy, yet unsatisfactory decomposition and rapid electron−hole pair recombination of catalysts hinder the solar-driven H 2 conversion efficiency. Herein, we designed a series of PtCu alloy nanoparticlemodified porous triptycene-based polymers (Pt x Cu 1 -TCP) to construct the heterostructure for highly efficient hydrogen generation from photocatalytic water/seawater splitting. Characterizations displayed that TCP with an ultrahigh surface area can confine the agglomeration of PtCu alloy; meanwhile, the PtCu alloy can facilitate the rapid electron transfer from TCP. In addition, TCP with a stable covalent bond structure can resist the corrosion of seawater. Benefiting from these two advantages, Pt 7 Cu 1 -TCP showed a remarkably enhanced photocatalytic performance with a maximum H 2 evolution rate of 3255 μmol g −1 h −1 in natural seawater with triethanolamine, which is 2.69, 116.25, and 1.08 times that of Pt-TCP, Cu-TCP, and optimal catalyst in pure water, respectively. This study provides an idea for the development of a novel catalytic system for hydrogen production from solar-driven water/seawater splitting.