Tailoring Ultrashort Inter‐Fullerene Spacing in a Continuous Fullerene Stacking Array to Enhance Electron Transport for Boosting Solar‐Driven Hydrogen Production

ABSTRACT The efficiency of organic semiconductor photocatalysts is typically limited by their capability of photogenerated electron transport. Herein, a photocatalyst is proposed initially through the specific axial coordination interaction between imidazole‐C 60 (ImC 60 ) and zinc tetraphenyl porphyrin (ZnTPP) named ImC 60 ‐ZnTPP. Subsequently, detailed structural characterizations along with theoretical calculation reveal that the unique ImC 60 ‐ZnTPP possesses head‐to‐tail stacking supra‐structures, leading to the formation of a continuous array of C 60 –C 60 with ultrashort spacing and ensuring strong π–π interactions and homogeneous electronic coupling, which could tremendously promote electron transport along the (−111) crystal facet of ImC 60 ‐ZnTPP. Consequently, compared to other fullerene‐based photocatalysts, ImC 60 ‐ZnTPP shows exceptional photocatalytic hydrogen production activity, with an efficiency of up to 80.95 mmol g −1 h −1 . This study provides a novel strategy to design highly efficient fullerene‐based photocatalytic systems for solar‐driven energy conversion and extend their artificial photosynthetic use.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Carbon Energy
Published
2025-04-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/cey2.70000
Citations
6
Primary Topic
Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
2.18

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Tailoring Ultrashort Inter‐Fullerene Spacing in a Continuous Fullerene Stacking Array to Enhance Electron Transport for Boosting Solar‐Driven Hydrogen Production

Ying Jiang, Yupeng Song, Rui Wen, Chunru Wang et al.
6 citations
Carbon Energy
Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion
2.18
article

Tailoring Ultrashort Inter‐Fullerene Spacing in a Continuous Fullerene Stacking Array to Enhance Electron Transport for Boosting Solar‐Driven Hydrogen Production

Ying Jiang, Yupeng Song, Rui Wen, Chunru Wang, Jiechao Ge, Bo Wu, Ruizhi Liu, Tianyang Dong, Chong Wang, Zihui Hua
article en
6 citations

Abstract

ABSTRACT The efficiency of organic semiconductor photocatalysts is typically limited by their capability of photogenerated electron transport. Herein, a photocatalyst is proposed initially through the specific axial coordination interaction between imidazole‐C 60 (ImC 60 ) and zinc tetraphenyl porphyrin (ZnTPP) named ImC 60 ‐ZnTPP. Subsequently, detailed structural characterizations along with theoretical calculation reveal that the unique ImC 60 ‐ZnTPP possesses head‐to‐tail stacking supra‐structures, leading to the formation of a continuous array of C 60 –C 60 with ultrashort spacing and ensuring strong π–π interactions and homogeneous electronic coupling, which could tremendously promote electron transport along the (−111) crystal facet of ImC 60 ‐ZnTPP. Consequently, compared to other fullerene‐based photocatalysts, ImC 60 ‐ZnTPP shows exceptional photocatalytic hydrogen production activity, with an efficiency of up to 80.95 mmol g −1 h −1 . This study provides a novel strategy to design highly efficient fullerene‐based photocatalytic systems for solar‐driven energy conversion and extend their artificial photosynthetic use.

Carbon EnergyVol. 7(7)
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (CN), Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry (CN), Institute of Chemistry (CN), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Youth Innovation Promotion Association
Openalex Percentile: Top 13%
Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion
2.18
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.