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Artificial Photosynthesis; Biomimetic; Nanoarchitecture; Solar Fuels; CO2 photoreduction
Abstract:
In photosynthesis, an intricate polymeric system is constructed by connecting a light-harvesting antenna network, a molecular water oxidation center, and \CO2\} or proton-reduction machinery in a nanolayered architecture as a basic photosynthetic unit for solar-to-fuels conversion. Herein, we present a prototype basic artificial photosynthetic unit by connecting a typical CO2/proton reduction catalyst, a cocatalyst and an electron mediator as well as \{CO2\} activator into a polymer based nano-architectured system for artificial photosynthesis with water and CO2. Here, g-C3N4 nanosheets, mimicking the nanolayered thylakoids stacks are demonstrated as promising photocatalytic elements with planar configuration and high surface area, which provide an excellent platform for the assembly of other analogous elements. Au \{NPs\} are served as a suitable cocatalyst. ZIF-9, as a typical cofactor to illustrate this concept here, is used as a \{CO2\} concentrator and an electron mediator to promote the redox reaction. In artificial photosynthesis, driven by light energy, water and \{CO2\} are served electron donor and carbon source respectively for the generation of \{H2\ and CO. The artificial unit described here as a simple model, provides an important biomimetic step down a path aligned with the low-cost artificial photosynthetic systems manufacturing.
