Chromophore-Catalyst Assembly for Water Oxidation Prepared by Atomic Layer Deposition

Visible-light-driven water splitting was investigated in a dye sensitized photoelectrosynthesis cell (DSPEC) based on a photoanode with a phosphonic acid-derivatized donor−π–acceptor (D−π– A ) organic chromophore, 1, and the water oxidation catalyst [Ru(bda)(4-O(CH 2 ) 3 P(O 3 H 2 ) 2 -pyr) 2 ], 2, (pyr = pyridine; bda = 2,2′-bipyridine-6,6′-dicarboxylate). The photoanode was prepared by using a layering strategy beginning with the organic dye anchored to an FTO|core/shell electrode, atomic layer deposition (ALD) of a thin layer (<1 nm) of TiO 2, and catalyst binding through phosphonate linkage to the TiO 2 layer. Device performance was evaluated by photocurrent measurements for core/shell photoanodes, with either SnO 2 or nano ITO core materials, in acetate-buffered, aqueous solutions at pH 4.6 or 5.7. The absolute magnitudes of photocurrent changes with the core material, TiO 2 spacer layer thickness, or pH, observed photocurrents were 2.5-fold higher in the presence of catalyst. The results of transient absorption measurements and DFT calculations show that electron injection by the photoexcited organic dye is ultrafast promoted by electronic interactions enabled by orientation of the dye’s molecular orbitals on the electrode surface. Rapid injection is followed by recombination with the oxidized dye which is 95% complete by 1.5 ns. Although chromophore decomposition limits the efficiency of the DSPEC devices toward O 2 production, the flexibility of the strategy presented here offers a new approach to photoanode design.