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Updated: Aug 22, 2025
Developing Photosensitizer-Cobaloxime Hybrids for Solar-Driven H2 Production in Aqueous Aerobic Conditions
Published on: October 5, 2019
Bias-Free Solar-Driven Syngas Production: A Fe2 O3 Photoanode Featuring Single-Atom Cobalt Integrated with a
Bin Zhao1,2, Xiaojuan Huang1, Yong Ding3
1State Key Laboratory for Oxo Synthesis & Selective Oxidation, National Engineering Research Center for Fine Petrochemical Intermediates, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, CAS, Lanzhou, 730000, P. R. China.
Abstract:
Photoelectrochemical syngas production from aqueous CO2 is a promising technique for carbon capture and utilization. Herein, we demonstrate the efficient and tunable syngas production by integrating a single-atom cobalt-catalyst-decorated α-Fe2 O3 photoanode with a bimetallic Ag/Pd alloy cathode. A record syngas production activity of 81.9 μmol cm-2 h-1 (CO/H2 ratio: ≈1 : 1) was achieved under artificial sunlight (AM 1.5 G) with an excellent durability. Systematic studies reveal that the Co single atoms effectively extract the holes from Fe2 O3 photoanodes and serve as active sites for promoting oxygen evolution. Simultaneously, the Pd and Ag atoms in bimetallic cathodes selectively adsorb CO2 and protons for facilitating CO production. Further incorporation with a photovoltaic, to allow solar light (>600 nm) to be utilized, yields a bias-free CO2 reduction device with solar-to-CO and solar-to-H2 conversion efficiencies up to 1.33 and 1.36 %, respectively.
