FexNi9-xS8 (x = 3-6) as potential photocatalysts for solar-driven hydrogen production?
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Authors
Tetzlaff, David
Simon, Christopher
Smialkowski, Mathias
Junge Puring, Kai
Bloesser, André
Piontek, Stefan
Kasap, Hatice
Siegmund, Daniel
Marschall, Roland
Apfel, Ulf-Peter
Publication Date
2019-04-03Journal Title
Faraday Discuss
ISSN
1359-6640
Publisher
The Royal Society of Chemistry
Language
English
Type
Article
This Version
AM
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Tetzlaff, D., Simon, C., Achilleos, D., Smialkowski, M., Junge Puring, K., Bloesser, A., Piontek, S., et al. (2019). FexNi9-xS8 (x = 3-6) as potential photocatalysts for solar-driven hydrogen production?. Faraday Discuss https://doi.org/10.1039/c8fd00173a
Abstract
The efficient reduction of protons by non-noble metals under mild conditions is a challenge for our modern society. Nature utilises hydrogenases, enzymatic machineries that comprise iron- and nickel- containing active sites, to perform the conversion of protons to hydrogen. We herein report a straightforward synthetic pathway towards well-defined particles of the bio-inspired material FexNi9-xS8, a structural and functional analogue of hydrogenase metal sulfur clusters. Moreover, the potential of pentlandites to serve as photocatalysts for solar-driven H2-production is assessed for the first time. The FexNi9-xS8 materials are visible light responsive (band gaps between 2.02 and 2.49 eV, depending on the pentlandite's Fe : Ni content) and display a conduction band energy close to the thermodynamic potential for proton reduction. Despite the limited driving force, a modest activity for photocatalytic H2 has been observed. Our observations show the potential for the future development of pentlandites as photocatalysts. This work provides a basis to explore powerful synergies between biomimetic chemistry and material design to unlock novel applications in solar energy conversion.
Sponsorship
The authors acknowledge financial support of the Fonds of the Chemical Industry (Liebig grant to U.-P. A.), the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Emmy Noether grant to U.-P. A., Cluster of Excellence RESOLV (EXC2033), AP242/2-1; AP242/6-1; MA 5392/7-1), the Fraunhofer Internal Programs under Grant No. Attract 097-602175 as well as the Christian Doppler Association (Austrian Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs, the National Foundation for Research, Technology and Development) and OMV.
Funder references
Christian Doppler Forschungsgesellschaft (unknown)
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/c8fd00173a
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/295364
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