Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 15, 2026
09:58
Light-driven Enzymatic Decarboxylation
Published on: May 22, 2016
12.3K
Light-Driven Water Splitting Mediated by Photogenerated Bromine
Matthew V Sheridan1, Ying Wang2, Degao Wang2
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida International University, Modesto Maidique Campus, CP304-11200 SW 8th St., Miami, FL, 33199, USA.
Angewandte Chemie (International Ed. in English)
|February 1, 2018
Summary
This study demonstrates light-driven water splitting using a dye-sensitized film that oxidizes bromide to bromine. This process efficiently drives a water oxidation catalyst (WOC) for oxygen evolution.
Area of Science:
- Photochemistry
- Catalysis
- Materials Science
Background:
- Efficient water splitting is crucial for renewable energy.
- Developing robust and effective water oxidation catalysts (WOCs) remains a challenge.
- Dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cells offer a promising platform for solar fuel production.
Purpose of the Study:
- To achieve light-driven water splitting using a novel dye-sensitized mesoporous oxide film.
- To utilize the photochemical oxidation of bromide as a sacrificial oxidant for WOCs.
- To investigate the efficiency and performance of a specific ruthenium-based WOC.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of a dye-sensitized mesoporous oxide film on a SnO2/TiO2 core-shell electrode.
- Employing a ruthenium complex ([Ru(bda)(pic)2]) as the water oxidation catalyst.
- Using bromide oxidation to bromine (Br2) or tribromide (Br3-) as the sacrificial oxidant.
Main Results:
- Photochemical oxidation of bromide generated oxidants with potentials sufficient to drive water oxidation (1.09 V for Br2/Br- and 1.05 V for Br3-/Br-).
- A photocurrent density of ~1.2 mA/cm2 was achieved under 1 Sun illumination.
- A Faradaic efficiency of 77% for oxygen evolution was observed with the addition of the WOC.
Conclusions:
- The developed system effectively drives water splitting using light and bromide oxidation.
- The sacrificial oxidant strategy coupled with a WOC shows promise for efficient oxygen evolution.
- This approach offers a viable pathway for solar-driven water oxidation.
Related Concept Videos
01:27Radical Substitution: Allylic Bromination
6.7K
In organic synthesis, the formation of products can be altered by changing the reaction conditions. For example, a dibromo addition product is formed when propene is treated with bromine at room temperature. In contrast, propene undergoes allylic substitution in non-polar solvents at high temperatures to give 3-bromopropene. In order to avoid the addition reaction, the bromine concentration must be kept as low as possible throughout the reaction. This can be achieved using N-bromosuccinimide...
6.7K
01:13¹H NMR: Complex Splitting
1.9K
A proton M that is coupled to a proton X results in doublet signals for M. However, NMR-active nuclei can be simultaneously coupled to more than one nonequivalent nucleus. When M is coupled to a second proton A, such as in styrene oxide, each peak in the doublet is split into another doublet.
Splitting diagrams or splitting tree diagrams are routinely used to depict such complex couplings. While drawing splitting diagrams, the splitting with the larger coupling constant is usually applied...
Splitting diagrams or splitting tree diagrams are routinely used to depict such complex couplings. While drawing splitting diagrams, the splitting with the larger coupling constant is usually applied...
1.9K
01:23States of Water
57.5K
Water exists in any one of the three classical states: solid (ice), liquid (water), and gas (steam or water vapor). The state of water depends on i) the intermolecular forces that draw molecules together and ii) the kinetic energy that leads to movements that pull them apart.
Water freezes when the intermolecular forces are greater than the kinetic energy. Unlike most other substances, water is less dense in its solid state than in its liquid state. This is because each water molecule can form...
Water freezes when the intermolecular forces are greater than the kinetic energy. Unlike most other substances, water is less dense in its solid state than in its liquid state. This is because each water molecule can form...
57.5K
02:00Photoreceptors and Plant Responses to Light
28.6K
Light plays a significant role in regulating the growth and development of plants. In addition to providing energy for photosynthesis, light provides other important cues to regulate a range of developmental and physiological responses in plants.
28.6K
02:16Light Acquisition
9.6K
In order to produce glucose, plants need to capture sufficient light energy. Many modern plants have evolved leaves specialized for light acquisition. Leaves can be only millimeters in width or tens of meters wide, depending on the environment. Due to competition for sunlight, evolution has driven the evolution of increasingly larger leaves and taller plants, to avoid shading by their neighbors with contaminant elaboration of root architecture and mechanisms to transport water and nutrients.
9.6K
01:15Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution: Chlorination and Bromination of Benzene
11.5K
Chlorination and bromination are important classes of electrophilic aromatic substitutions, where benzene reacts with chlorine or bromine in the presence of a Lewis acid catalyst to give halogenated substitution products. A Lewis acid such as aluminium chloride or ferric chloride catalyzes the chlorination, and ferric bromide catalyzes the bromination reactions. During the bromination of alkenes, bromine polarizes and becomes electrophilic. However, in the bromination of benzene, the bromine...
11.5K