Immobilization of a [CoIIICoII(H2O)W11O39]7- Polyoxoanion for the Photocatalytic Oxygen Evolution Reaction

The ongoing transition to renewable energy sources and the implementation of artificial photosynthetic setups call for an efficient and stable water oxidation catalyst (WOC). Here, we heterogenize a molecular all-inorganic [(CoCoII)-Co-III(H2O)W11O39](7-) ({(CoCoW11)-Co-III-W-II}) Keggin-type polyoxometalate (POM) onto a model TiO2 surface, employing a 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) linker to form a novel heterogeneous photosystem for light-driven water oxidation. The {(CoCoW11)-Co-III-W-II}-APTES-TiO2 hybrid is characterized using a set of spectroscopic and microscopic techniques to reveal the POM integrity and dispersion to elucidate the POM/APTES and APTES/TiO2 binding modes as well as to visualize the attachment of individual clusters. We conduct photocatalytic studies under heterogeneous and homogeneous conditions and show that {(CoCoW11)-Co-III-W-II}-APTES-TiO2 performs as an active light-driven WOC, wherein {(CoCoW11)-Co-III-W-II} acts as a stable co-catalyst for water oxidation. In contrast to the homogeneous WOC performance of this POM, the heterogenized photosystem yields a constant WOC rate for at least 10 h without any apparent deactivation, demonstrating that TiO2 not only stabilizes the POM but also acts as a photosensitizer. Complementary studies using photoluminescence (PL) emission spectroscopy elucidate the charge transfer mechanism and enhanced WOC activity. The {(CoCoW11)-Co-III-W-II}-APTES-TiO2 photocatalyst serves as a prime example of a hybrid homogeneous-heterogeneous photosystem that combines the advantages of solid-state absorbers and well-defined molecular co-catalysts, which will be of interest to both scientific communities and applications in photoelectrocatalysis and CO2 reduction.

Automated summary

This study successfully heterogenized a molecular all-inorganic polyoxometalate catalyst onto a TiO2 surface, creating a novel heterogeneous photosystem for efficient and stable light-driven water oxidation. The hybrid photosystem exhibited constant catalytic rate for at least 10 hours, demonstrating the stability provided by TiO2 and its role as a photosensitizer.