Monolithic organic/inorganic ternary nanohybrids toward electron transfer cascade for enhanced visible-light photocatalysis

A hierarchical electron transfer cascade system composed of monolithic organic/inorganic ternary nanohybrids (electrospun carbon nanofibers, ZnO nanorods, porphyrin) has been facilely prepared. The hybrid system can make concurrent use of efficient organic absorbers, dielectric screening and the electron shuttle provided by the inorganic components. Consequently, photogenerated electron-hole recombination is harnessed by the formed hierarchical electron transfer cascade. The monolithic organic/inorganic hybrid hereby exhibited remarkably high photocurrent generation. Moreover, the photocatalytic studies revealed that the hybrid displayed enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity toward degrading organic waste compared with other components, and the reproducibility could be guaranteed after successive use. These results pave a way to discover new organic/inorganic assemblies for high-performance optoelectronic applications, as well as for device integration.