Organic colorants coupled with hydrogen production catalysts: new molecular materials for artificial photosynthesis.

This project addresses the challenge of converting solar energy into on-demand fuel. The goal is to design enhanced hydrogen production photocathodes by developing innovative push-pull organic dyes associated with identified cobalt catalysts. Inspired by previously developed photovoltaic dyes, the project adapts properties for DS-PECs applications, strategically aligning dye characteristics with electrode material and catalyst. The synthesis of innovative dye-catalyst dyads yields promising outcomes, featuring strong visible-range absorption and effective coupling with NiO and known catalysts. These advancements, along with the development of lithium-doped electrodes, showcase superior photo-electrocatalytic performance compared to literature references.