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

© 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim Room-temperature self-assembly was used to fabricate a periodic array of uniformly sized Al3+-doped SiO2 nanoparticles (Al−SiO2NPs, 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−SiO2NPs 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 QuPh.-NA molecules, which were generated by reduction of the photoexcited state of QuPh+-NA ions (QuPh.-NA.+) with β-dihydronicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), thereby resulting in efficient photocatalytic H2 evolution