Porphyrin-based photocatalysts for hydrogen production

Photocatalytic hydrogen production from water is a facile and clean approach to convert rich solar energy into chemical fuel. Developing efficient and robust catalysts to accelerate water-splitting speed is key. Porphyrins exist widely in green plants and are a key photosensitizer to absorb and transfer light energy to other parts of the photosynthesis system of plants. They are considered an ideal model to construct artificial photocatalysts for hot-carrier-mediated hydrogen production. This article discusses recent achievements in constructing porphyrin-based photocatalysts for hydrogen production, including porphyrin molecules, self-assembled porphyrins, metal-organic frameworks, conjugated porphyrin polymers, and hybrid nanomaterial-based photocatalysts. The design and synthesis principles, structure-property relationships, as well as urgent issues to be solved in the future for every type of photocatalyst are also discussed.