Plasma-based immobilisation of novel non-precious metal photosensitizers for improved light harvest in photo(electro)catalytic water splitting

本项目的目的是开发用于光电催化分解水的新型高效半导体-分子敏化剂组件。含有非贵金属的染料将通过特定的表面修饰固定在半导体上，以提高采光效率。改性将通过等离子体沉积功能化的聚合物涂层来进行。更准确地说，联合应用的目的是开发一种解决方案，用于光催化分解水的再生制氢。为此，中国和德国的研究小组将结合他们在分子催化剂合成、光催化剂和光敏剂开发以及等离子体技术方面的专业知识。对于水分离光敏剂-半导体组件将被开发。重点在于合成新型非贵金属光敏剂，以提高光收获率。这些是分子化合物，由非贵金属中心原子组成，周围有氮和含磷的配体。光敏剂应该在可见光范围内表现出比半导体材料显著更高的光捕获效率。这些通常用于均相催化的化合物的性能将被应用于提高多相催化剂的光催化活性。因此，原来在可见光范围内表现出低效吸附的半导体表面将被上述增感剂修饰。两个组件之间的界面是此类组件效率的重要因素。等离子体聚合涂层将被用来将光敏剂固定在半导体表面上，并使它们之间的电子传递成为可能。光敏剂-半导体组件最终将应用于光电催化电池中的氢气生产。该项目的跨学科方面将促进中国和德国研究人员在光催化分解水方面的交流。这一合作为培训研究人员提供了一个独特的机会，利用几个月的海外停留来加速新科学知识的交流。在该项目中，特别是年轻的研究人员将接受培训。太阳能制氢这一特殊领域需要跨学科的思考和行动。一个可持续的研究环境将通过跨学科跨境知识交流来实现。

The aim of this project is the development of novel and efficient semi-conductor-molecular sensitizer assemblies for photoelectrocatalytic water splitting. Non precious metal containing dyes will be anchored on semiconductors by specific modification of their surfaces to improve the efficiency of light harvest. The modification will be performed by plasma deposition of functionalized polymer coatings.More precisely, the intention of the joint application is to develop a solution for the regenerative hydrogen production by photocatalytic water splitting. For that purpose research teams from China and Germany will combine their expertises in the fields of synthesis of molecular catalysts, photocatalyst and photosensitizer development and plasma technology. For the water splitting photosensitizer-semiconductor assemblies will be developed. A focus lies on the synthesis of novel non-precious metal photosensitizers for an improved light harvest. These are molecular compounds, which consist of non-precious metal central atoms surrounded by nitrogen and phosphor containing ligands. The photosensitizers should show significantly higher light harvest efficiencies in the visible range of light than the semiconducting materials. The performance of these compounds, normally used for homogeneous catalysis, will be applied to improve the photocatalytic activity of heterogeneous catalysts. Therefore the surfaces of semiconductors, which originally show an inefficient adsorption in the visible range, will be modified with the above mentioned sensitizers. The interface between both components is an important factor for the efficiency of such assemblies. Plasma polymerized coatings will be utilized for anchoring the photosensitizer on the semiconductor surface and enabling the electron transport between them. Photosensitizer-semiconductor assemblies will be finally applied for hydrogen production in photoelectrocatalytical cells.The interdisciplinary aspect of the project will stimulate the communication between researchers of China and Germany working on photocatalytic water splitting. The cooperation offers a unique opportunity for training of researchers by using several months long stays abroad to accelerate the exchange of new scientific knowledge. Within the project especially young researchers will be trained. The special field of solar hydrogen production requires interdisciplinary thinking and acting. A sustainable research environment will be realized by an interdisciplinary cross border exchange of knowledge.