Nanofabrication of a Solid-State, Mesoporous Nanoparticle Composite for Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation

Abstract

Room-temperature self-assembly was used to fabricate a periodic array of uniformly sized Al3+-doped SiO2 nanoparticles (Al-SiO(2)NPs, 20-30 nm). The uniform mesoporous structure was suitable for uniformly incorporating and distributing Pt nanoparticles (PtNPs), which were used as hydrogen-evolution catalysts in artificial photosynthetic systems, without agglomeration during the catalytic reaction. When the surfaces of the Al-SiO(2)NPs were covered with an organic photocatalyst (2-phenyl-4-(1-naphthyl)quinolinium ion, QuPh(+)-NA), each PtNP was surrounded by multiple QuPh(+)-NA ions. The structure allowed the PtNP to receive multiple electrons from QuPhC-NA molecules, which were generated by reduction of the photoexcited state of QuPh(+)-NA ions (QuPhC-NAC+) with beta-dihydronicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), thereby resulting in efficient photocatalytic H-2 evolution.