Catalytic Metallopolymers from [2Fe‐2S] Clusters: Artificial Metalloenzymes for Hydrogen Production

Reviewed herein is the development of novel polymer‐supported [2Fe‐2S] catalyst systems for electrocatalytic and photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reactions. [FeFe] hydrogenases are the best known naturally occurring metalloenzymes for hydrogen generation, and small‐molecule, [2Fe‐2S]‐containing mimetics of the active site (H‐cluster) of these metalloenzymes have been synthesized for years. These small [2Fe‐2S] complexes have not yet reached the same capacity as that of enzymes for hydrogen production. Recently, modern polymer chemistry has been utilized to construct an outer coordination sphere around the [2Fe‐2S] clusters to provide site isolation, water solubility, and improved catalytic activity. In this review, the various macromolecular motifs and the catalytic properties of these polymer‐supported [2Fe‐2S] materials are surveyed. The most recent catalysts that incorporate a single [2Fe‐2S] complex, termed single‐site [2Fe‐2S] metallopolymers, exhibit superior activity for H₂ production.     

Sequential Chemistry Toward Core–Shell Structured Metal Sulfides as Stable and Highly Efficient Visible-Light Photocatalysts

A universal sequential synthesis strategy in aqueous solution is presented for highly uniform core–shell structured photocatalysts, which consist of a metal sulfide light absorber core and a metal sulfide co-catalyst shell. We show that the sequential chemistry can drive the formation of unique core–shell structures controlled by the constant of solubility product of metal sulfides. A variety of metal sulfide core–shell structures have been demonstrated, including CdS@CoS_x, CdS@MnS_x, CdS@NiS_x, CdS@ZnS_x, CuS@CdS, and more complexed CdS@ZnS_x@CoS_x. The obtained strawberry-like CdS@CoS_x core–shell structures exhibit a high photocatalytic H₂ production activity of 3.92 mmol h⁻¹ and an impressive apparent quantum efficiency of 67.3 % at 420 nm, which is much better than that of pure CdS nanoballs (0.28 mmol h⁻¹), CdS/CoS_x composites (0.57 mmol h⁻¹), and 5 %wt Pt-loaded CdS photocatalysts (1.84 mmol h⁻¹).     

Optimizing Optical Absorption,Exciton Dissociation,and Charge Transfer of a Polymeric Carbon Nitride with Ultrahigh Solar Hydrogen Production Activity

Polymeric or organic semiconductors are promising candidates for photocatalysis but mostly only show moderate activity owing to strongly bound excitons and insufficient optical absorption. Herein, we report a facile bottom‐up strategy to improve the activity of a carbon nitride to a level in which a majority of photons are really used to drive photoredox chemistry. Co‐condensation of urea and oxamide followed by post‐calcination in molten salt is shown to result in highly crystalline species with a maximum π–π layer stacking distance of heptazine units of 0.292 nm, which improves lateral charge transport and interlayer exciton dissociation. The addition of oxamide decreases the optical band gap from 2.74 to 2.56 eV, which enables efficient photochemistry also with green light. The apparent quantum yield (AQY) for H₂ evolution of optimal samples reaches 57 % and 10 % at 420 nm and 525 nm, respectively, which is significantly higher than in most previous experiments.     

Topotactic Epitaxy of SrTiO3 Mesocrystal Superstructures with Anisotropic Construction for Efficient Overall Water Splitting

The higher‐order structures of semiconductor‐based photocatalysts play crucial roles in their physicochemical properties for efficient light‐to‐energy conversion. A novel perovskite SrTiO₃ mesocrystal superstructure with well‐defined orientation of assembled cubic nanocrystals was synthesized by topotactic epitaxy from TiO₂ mesocrystals through a facile hydrothermal treatment. The SrTiO₃ mesocrystal exhibits three times the efficiency for the hydrogen evolution of conventional disordered systems in alkaline aqueous solution. It also exhibits a high quantum yield of 6.7 % at 360 nm in overall water splitting and even good durability up to 1 day. Temporal and spatial spectroscopic observations revealed that the synergy of the efficient electron flow along the internal nanocube network and efficient collection at the larger external cubes produces remarkably long‐lived charges for enhanced photocatalysis.     

Activation of Water-Splitting Photocatalysts by Loading with Ultrafine Rh–Cr Mixed-Oxide Cocatalyst Nanoparticles

The activity of many water-splitting photocatalysts could be improved by the use of Rh^III–Cr^III mixed oxide (Rh_2−xCr_xO₃) particles as cocatalysts. Although further improvement of water-splitting activity could be achieved if the size of the Rh_2−xCr_xO₃ particles was decreased further, it is difficult to load ultrafine (<2 nm) Rh_2−xCr_xO₃ particles onto a photocatalyst by using conventional loading methods. In this study, a new loading method was successfully established and was used to load Rh_2−xCr_xO₃ particles with a size of approximately 1.3 nm and a narrow size distribution onto a BaLa₄Ti₄O₁₅ photocatalyst. The obtained photocatalyst exhibited an apparent quantum yield of 16 %, which is the highest achieved for BaLa₄Ti₄O₁₅ to date. Thus, the developed loading technique of Rh_2−xCr_xO₃ particles is extremely effective at improving the activity of the water-splitting photocatalyst BaLa₄Ti₄O₁₅. This method is expected to be extended to other advanced water-splitting photocatalysts to achieve higher quantum yields.     

Visible‐Light‐Driven Overall Water Splitting Boosted by Tetrahedrally Coordinated Blende Cobalt(II) Oxide Atomic Layers

Directly splitting water into H₂ and O₂ with solar light is extremely important; however, the overall efficiency of water splitting still remains extremely low. Two types of ultrathin semiconductor layers with the same elements and the same thicknesses were designed to uncover how different atomic arrangements influence water‐splitting efficiency thermodynamically and kinetically. As an example, tetrahedrally coordinated blende and octahedrally coordinated rocksalt CoO atomic layers with nearly the same thicknesses were synthesized for the first time. The blende CoO atomic layers have a smaller E_g and abundant d–d internal transition features relative to the rocksalt CoO atomic layers, which ensure enhanced visible‐light harvesting ability. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the Bader charge for Co atoms in blende CoO atomic layers is larger than that of the rocksalt CoO atomic layers, which facilitates photocarrier transfer kinetics, as verified by photoluminescence spectra and time‐resolved fluorescence emission decay spectra. In situ FTIR spectra and energy calculations reveal that the *OOH dissociation step is the rate‐limiting step, where the blende CoO atomic layers possess a smaller *OOH dissociation energy thanks to their higher Bader charge and stronger steric effect, as confirmed by the elongated Co?OOH bonds. The blende CoO atomic layers exhibit visible‐light‐driven H₂ and O₂ formation rates of 4.43 and 2.63 μmol g^?1 h^?1, roughly 3.7 times higher than those of the rocksalt CoO atomic layers.     

Crystalline Carbon Nitride Semiconductors for Photocatalytic Water Splitting

Conjugated carbon nitride (CN) is an emerging and promising semiconductor photocatalyst for water photolysis owing to its unique properties. However, the traditional thermally induced polymerization of N‐containing precursors typically produces melon‐based CN solids with amorphous or semi‐crystalline structures with only moderate photocatalytic performance. Many strategies have been developed to prepare crystalline CNs (CCNs), such as high‐temperature and high‐pressure routes, ionothermal synthesis, and microwave‐assisted synthesis. In this Minireview, we summarize the progress that has been made in the synthesis of CCNs and their application in photocatalytic water splitting reactions. Three kinds of CCNs are mainly discussed according to their polymeric subunits. Challenges associated with CCNs and their future development are also included.