A pure organic heterostructure of μ-oxo dimeric iron(iii) porphyrin and graphitic-C3N4 for solar H2 roduction from water

Abstract

Due to the two-dimensional flexible structure and abundant pendant amine, graphitic-C₃N₄ (g-C₃N₄) may be easily modified by organic molecules as a promising photocatalyst for solar H₂ production from water. Here, through a simple liquid chemical reaction between g-C₃N₄ and the precursor of μ-oxo dimeric iron(III) porphyrin [(FeTPP)₂O], we provide a novel route to construct a pure organic heterostructure of g-C₃N₄/(FeTPP)₂O on the basis of the π–π and the Fe–amine interactions. The experimental results demonstrated that (FeTPP)₂O acted not just as a photosensitizer, but also played the role of a charge promotor to prohibit the recombination of the excited electrons and holes of g-C₃N₄. As compared to pure or mixed g-C₃N₄ and/or (FeTPP)₂O, the obtained pure organic g-C₃N₄/(FeTPP)₂O heterostructure exhibited dramatic photocatalytic H₂ production under solar light without any cocatalysts.