Spontaneous exciton dissociation in organic photocatalyst under ambient conditions for highly efficient synthesis of hydrogen peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a highly competitive ready-to-use product for solar energy transformation. However, charge recombination caused by the inefficient dissociation of exciton into free charges severely constrains the photocatalytic efficiencies, especially in ambient conditions. Herein, the photosynthesis of H2O2 is achieved in ambient conditions, that is, real water, open air, and sunlight irradiation, by a donor-bridge-acceptor conjugated polymeric photocatalyst with the remarkable productivity reaching between 9,366 and 12,324 mu mol.g(-1) from 9 AM to 4 PM. The photosynthesis efficiency of H2O2 in ambient conditions is even higher than all of the reported systems conducted in pure water and O-2 atmosphere. The remarkably high efficiency is attributed to the spontaneously dissociated exciton at room temperature and the substantially suppressed back electron transfer through storing the photoinduced electron in redox electron acceptors. This efficient photosynthesis in ambient conditions allows the solar-to-chemical conversion in a real cost-effective and sustainable way, which represents an important step toward real applications.

Automated summary

Researchers have achieved photosynthesis of hydrogen peroxide in real ambient conditions using a conjugated polymeric photocatalyst, with remarkably high efficiency. This efficient photosynthesis allows for solar-to-chemical conversion in a cost-effective and sustainable way, representing an important step towards real applications.