Studies on the Photocatalytic Electron Pooling of Graphene Oxide Hybrids Decorated with Electron Donor and Electron Acceptor Molecules

Photocatalytic behavior of a recently synthesized, single layer graphene oxide (SLGO) decorated with an electron donor, zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) and an electron acceptor, fulleropyrrolidine (C60) donor-acceptor hybrid is demonstrated. Electron accumulation in the form of one-electron reduced product of methyl viologen was obtained in high yields in an electron pooling experiment involving the ZnPc-SLGO-C60 hybrid and a sacrificial electron donor compared with control hybrids involving either ZnPc-SLGO or SLGO-C60 hybrids. This novel property of ZnPc-SLGO-C60 hybrid has been ascribed to the proximity effect offered by GO with covalently linked donor and acceptor entities on its surface. The present studies reveal that the ZnPc-SLGO-C60 hybrid is a suitable catalyst for solar fuel production.