Photoelectrocatalysis is one of the important approaches for production of solar fuels and value-added chemicals. Developing high-performance solar energy conversion devices is a feasible alternative to achieving energy saving and reduction of carbon emission in the future. For those devices, the efficiency and stability is controlled by the thermodynamic energy levels of each component and the microscopic electron transfer dynamics of each step. Those limiting factors direct the way of improving those devices for future scaling up. In this work, we prepared a series of flexible photoresponsive polymer thin films that can convert green light to high-energy electrons for photoelectrocatalytic applications. The polymer-based photoelectrodes were synthesized by a multi-step assembling method involving cross-linking of polymer chains with a molecular photosensitizer and a nanoparticulate catalyst. The unique three-dimensional network structure of the polymer films provides sufficient electronic contact between the high-energy charge carriers and the active sites of the catalyst. We demonstrate that the photoresponsiveness, electronic conductivity and hydrophilicity of the polymer films, tuned by changing the structures of each component and the polymerization conditions, have an large impact on the device performance such as light harvesting efficiency, stability and catalytic performance.

Stretchable and flexible polymer thin films for photoelectrocatalytic devices

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.