Abstract:

"Direct solar to fuel conversion via photocatalytic water splitting has received vast research interest in recent years, as an attractive method of solar energy capture and storage. However, research has mainly focused on inorganic semiconductor photocatalysts with bandgaps which are difficult to tune, and often too wide to absorb a significant portion of the solar spectrum.

This work demonstrates a simple method of fabricating functionalised nanoparticles from a wide range of cheap, tuneable organic semiconductors. Catalyst decorated nanoparticles were fabricated which are capable of hydrogen evolution from water, in the presence of a sacrificial electron donor, under visible light irradiation."