A Durable Metalloporphyrin 2D-Polymer for Photocatalytic Hydrogen and Oxygen Evolution from River and Sea Waters

It is highly imaginary that the outcome of a combination of two complementary resources leads to answer an alarming global issue. One such possible example is the solar seawater splitting for 'clean fuel' H-2 generation. Since the catalytic activity and stability of the photocatalysts are substantially challenged in seawater, the design of an efficient and stable photocatalyst is highly desirable. Herein, we demonstrate the solar seawater splitting by a two-dimensional polymer catalyst derived from metalloporphyrin bearing multi-hydroxyl groups. A bimetallic (Co and Ni) porphyrin 2D-polymer exhibits excellent long-term durability of 15 cycles of H-2 and O-2 generation in 200 days from pure water without a considerable decrease in efficiency. Detailed studies using river and seawaters also show the reliable performance of the catalyst over repeated cycles. Here the deactivation modes of catalytic activity have been nullified by the layered metalloporphyrin polymer structure through stable pi-pi stacking, signifying the molecular design of 2D-polymer photocatalyst.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates the feasibility of solar seawater splitting through the design of a two-dimensional polymer catalyst and showcases its advantages in long-term stability and cycling performance.