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Electro‐assembly of a Chromophore–Catalyst Bilayer for Water Oxidation and Photocatalytic Water Splitting
Author(s) -
Ashford Dennis L.,
Sherman Benjamin D.,
Binstead Robert A.,
Templeton Joseph L.,
Meyer Thomas J.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201410944
Subject(s) - chromophore , water splitting , catalysis , bilayer , chemistry , photocatalysis , mesoporous material , electrode , oxygen evolution , photochemistry , polymer , chemical engineering , materials science , electrochemistry , inorganic chemistry , membrane , organic chemistry , biochemistry , engineering
The use of electropolymerization to prepare electrocatalytically and photocatalytically active electrodes for water oxidation is described. Electropolymerization of the catalyst Ru II (bda)(4‐vinylpyridine) 2 (bda=2,2′‐bipyridine‐6,6′‐dicarboxylate) on planar electrodes results in films containing semirigid polymer networks. In these films there is a change in the water oxidation mechanism compared to the solution analogue from bimolecular to single‐site. Electro‐assembly construction of a chromophore–catalyst structure on mesoporous, nanoparticle TiO 2 films provides the basis for a dye‐sensitized photoelectrosynthesis cell (DSPEC) for sustained water splitting in a pH 7 phosphate buffer solution. Photogenerated oxygen was measured in real‐time by use of a two‐electrode cell design.