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Published on: August 7, 2018
Roles of Cobalt-Coordinated Polymeric Perylene Diimide in Hematite Photoanodes for Improved Water Oxidation
Lili Gao1, Huan Chai1, Huilin Niu1
1State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry (SKLAOC), The Key Laboratory of Catalytic Engineering of Gansu Province, Key Laboratory of Advanced Catalysis of Gansu Province, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, P. R. China.
Abstract:
Interfacial charge recombination is a permanent issue that impedes the photon energy utilization in photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. Herein, a conjugated polymer, urea linked perylene diimide polymer (PDI), is introduced to the designation of hematite-based composite photoanodes. On account of its unique molecule structure with abundant electronegative atoms, the O and N atoms with lone electron pairs can bond with Fe atoms at the surface of Zr4+ doped α-Fe2 O3 (Zr:Fe2 O3 ) and thus establish charge transfer channels for expediting hole separation and migration. Meanwhile, PDI molecules can passivate the surface states in Zr:Fe2 O3 , which is in favor of suppressing carrier recombination. Particularly, Co2+ is used to coordinate with PDI (Co-PDI) to accelerate hole extraction as well as utilization, and the as-obtained Co-PDI form type-II heterojunction with Zr:Fe2 O3 . Such a photoanode configuration takes advantage of the unique molecule structure of PDI, and the target Co-PDI/Zr:Fe2 O3 photoanodes eventually attain a photocurrent density of 2.17 mA cm-2 , which is inspirational for unearthing the potential use of conjugative molecules in PEC fields.
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