Biomimetic polymeric semiconductor based hybrid nanosystems for artificial photosynthesis towards solar fuels generation via CO2 reduction

Abstract In photosynthesis, an intricate polymeric system is constructed by connecting a light-harvesting antenna network, a molecular water oxidation center, and CO 2 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 CO 2 /proton reduction catalyst, a cocatalyst and an electron mediator as well as CO 2 activator into a polymer based nano-architectured system for artificial photosynthesis with water and CO 2 . Here, g-C 3 N 4 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 CO 2 concentrator and an electron mediator to promote the redox reaction. In artificial photosynthesis, driven by light energy, water and CO 2 are served electron donor and carbon source respectively for the generation of H 2 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.