Photoelectrochemical Generation of Hydrogen from Water Using a CdSe Quantum Dot-Sensitized Photocathode

The present study reports photelectrochemical H-2 evolution using a water-solubilized S-3-cap-CdSe quantum dot-sensitized NiO as the photocathode and either [Co(bdt)(2)](-) (bdt =1,2-benzenedithiolate) or Ni(DHLA)(x) (DHLA= the anion of dihydrolipoic acid) complex as the H-2-forming catalyst. The NiO-S-3-cap-CdSe/[Co(bdt)(2)](-) system produces H-2 with a turnover frequency of 3000 per CdSe mol.h. Faradaic efficiency for this system is essentially quantitative. Both systems are stable for more than 16 h.