Hybrid Molecular Photoanodes for Water Oxidation Based on Electropolymerized Cu Macrocyclic Complexes on BiVO <sub>4</sub> ‐WO <sub>3</sub>
Abstract The conversion of sunlight into chemical energy provides a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels that can significantly contribute to the mitigation of climate change. In this regard, water splitting with sunlight using semiconductors coupled with redox catalysts emerges as a potential pathway to generate green hydrogen. Here, the performance of molecular hybrid materials composed of inorganic semiconductors, WO 3 ‐BiVO 4 , combined with molecular water oxidation catalysts based on Cu macrocyclic complexes is described. It is found that the charge transfer from BiVO 4 to the molecular catalyst occurs on a similar time scale to the direct interfacial hole transfer to water, with a concomitant 62% decrease in the recombination rate because recombination centers are passivated upon deposition of the Cu molecular catalyst on the WO 3 ‐BiVO 4 junction. Overall, this results in an improvement of the photocurrent as well as long‐term stability of the new hybrid materials generated.
Authors
- Stefano Caramori (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4230-7663)
- Alberto Piccioni (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3447-2650)
- Antoni Llobet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6176-5272)
- Carlos García Bellido (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4247-3431)
- Raffaello Mazzaro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4598-9556)
- Xavier Sala (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7779-6313)
- Sergi Grau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7035-4870)
- F. Boscherini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9703-3903)
- Fernando F. Salomón (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4620-4960)
- Luca Pasquini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8939-2204)
- Michele Mazzanti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7812-2417)
- Koushik Ranu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4984-7731)
Institutions
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ES)
- University of Ferrara (IT)
- Institut Català d'Investigació Química (ES)
- University of Bologna (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Energy Materials
- Published
- 2025-08-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202500253
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.36
Funders
- Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades
- Centres de Recerca de Catalunya
- European Commission
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
- Generalitat de Catalunya
- Institut Català d'Investigació Química
- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
- Horizon 2020 Framework Programme
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación