Enhanced Visible‐Light‐Driven Photocatalytic Overall Splitting of Pure Water in a Porous Microreactor

• Published in: Angewandte Chemie 2025-01, Vol.137 (1), p.n/a
• Main Authors: Duanmu, Chuansong, Wang, Tingwei, Meng, Xin‐Yu, Li, Jin‐Jin, Zhou, Yin‐Ning, Pan, Yun‐Xiang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cadmium; Cadmium sulfide; Cobalt; Cobalt sulfide; Hydrogen production; microreactor; Microreactors; overall H2O splitting; Photocatalysis; Polymers; Reagents; Splitting; Sulfides
• ISSN: 0044-8249; 1521-3757
• DOI: 10.1002/ange.202412796

Photocatalytic overall splitting of pure water (H2O) without sacrificial reagent to hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2) holds a great potential for achieving carbon neutrality. Herein, by anchoring cobalt sulfide (Co9S8) as cocatalyst and cadmium sulfide (CdS) as light absorber to channel wall of a porous polymer microreactor (PP12), continuous violent H2 and O2 bubbling productions from photocatalytic overall splitting of pure H2O without sacrificial reagent is achieved, with H2 and O2 production rates as high as 4.41 and 2.20 mmol h−1 gcat.−1 respectively. These are significantly enhanced than those in the widely used stirred tank‐type reactor in which no O2 is produced and H2 production rate is only 0.004 mmol h−1 gcat.−1. Besides improved charge separation and interaction of H2O with photocatalyst in PP12, bonding interaction of Co9S8 with PP12 creates abundant catalytic active sites for simultaneous productions of H2 and O2, thus leading to the significantly enhanced H2 and O2 bubbling productions in PP12. This offers a new strategy to enhance photocatalytic overall splitting of pure H2O without sacrificial reagent. Violent H2 and O2 bubbling production with rates as high as 4.41 and 2.20 mmol h−1 gcat.−1 respectively is achieved in photocatalytic overall splitting of pure H2O in a porous microreactor (PP12). PP12 promotes charge separation and formation of catalytic active sites, thus leading to the greatly enhanced H2 and O2 bubbling productions in PP12. This opens a new way to enhance photocatalytic overall splitting of pure H2O.