Single PEDOT Catalyst Boosts CO<sub>2</sub> Photoreduction Efficiency
Yifan Diao, Sungyoon Jung, Mojgan Kouhnavard, Reagan Woon, Haoru Yang, Pratim Biswas, Julio M. D’Arcy
Abstract
High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Atmospheric pollution demands the development of solar-driven photocatalytic technologies for the conversion of CO 2 into a fuel; state-of-the-art cocatalyst systems demonstrate conversion efficiencies currently unattainable by a single catalyst. Here, we upend the status quo demonstrating that the nanofibrillar conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) is a record-breaking single catalyst for the photoreduction of CO 2 to CO. This high catalytic efficiency stems from a highly conductive nanofibrillar structure that significantly enhances surface area, CO 2 adsorption and light absorption. Moreover, the polymer’s band gap is optimized via chemical doping/dedoping treatments using hydrochloric acid, ammonia hydroxide, and hydrazine. The hydrazine-treated PEDOT catalyst exhibits 100% CO yield under a stable regime (>10 h) with a maximum rate of CO evolution (3000 μmol g cat –1 h –1 ) that is 2 orders of magnitude higher than the top performing single catalyst and surpassed only by three other cocatalyst systems. Nanofibrillar PEDOT provides a new direction for designing the next generation of high-efficiency photoreduction catalysts.