Organic semiconductor for artificial photosynthesis: water splitting into hydrogen by a bioinspired C3N3S3polymer under visible light irradiation

Abstract

A novel organic semiconductor photocatalyst mimicking natural light-harvesting antenna complexes in photosynthetic organisms, a disulfide (–S–S–) bridged C₃N₃S₃polymer, was designed and developed to generate hydrogen from water under visible light irradiation. The artificial conjugated polymer shows high H₂-producing activity from the half-reaction of water splitting without the aid of a sacrificial electron donor. The H₂-producing efficiency and photo-stability of the catalyst could be improved greatly using Ru and single-wall carbon nanotubes as cocatalysts or by adding a sacrificial donor. The results represent a potential and prospective application of the C₃N₃S₃polymer in solar energy conversion and offer significant guidance to develop more stable and efficient photocatalytic systems based on organic semiconductors.