reaches 650 mV on the condition of pH ¼ 10. However, the calculation showed that
the presence of intramolecular base could provide effective assistance for proton
transfer in the catalytic process, which provided some new ideas for the design of
better catalysts and catalytic systems.
4 Conclusion and Perspective
The exploration of artificial photosynthesis is of great significance for the development of green hydrogen energy. It can provide a large amount of scientific theoretical support for the future conversion of light energy to hydrogen energy. In artificial
photosynthesis, hydrogen evolution catalysts (HECs) and water oxidation catalysts
(WOCs) play an essential role, liking the engine of a car. In the last few decades,
researchers have developed a variety of HECs and WOCs and accumulated some
knowledge on the catalytic mechanism. However, these developed catalysts do still
not meet industrial applications, and there is still a long way to go. Pincer ligands
have been extensively applied in molecular catalysts for artificial photosynthesis,
they are generally used as a ligand to construct the molecular skeleton to provide
enhanced chemical and thermal stability which serve to minimize the leaching of the
metal during the catalytic cycle, but less directly participating in the regulation and
transportation of electrons or protons in the catalytic process. To develop a new type
of molecular catalyst is the bottleneck for water splitting and required easily
functionalizable and tunable ligand systems for controlling the electron-proton
transfer and bond cleavage/formation. Pincer ligands provide such a platform for
molecular design and modification and thus good candidates.
References
1. Sun L, Hammarström L, Åkermark B, Styring S (2001) Towards artificial photosynthesis:
ruthenium–manganese chemistry for energy production. Chem Soc Rev 30(1):36–49
2. Chow J, Kopp RJ, Portney PR (2003) Energy resources and global development. Science 302
(5650):1528–1531
3. Lewis NS, Nocera DG (2006) Powering the planet: chemical challenges in solar energy
utilization. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 103(43):15729–15735
4. Morton O (2006) Solar energy: a new day dawning? Silicon Valley sunrise. Nature 443
(7107):19–22
5. Allakhverdiev SI, Casal JJ, Nagata T (2009) Photosynthesis from molecular perspectives:
towards future energy production. Photochem Photobiol Sci 8(2):137–138
6. Cook TR, Dogutan DK, Reece SY, Surendranath Y, Teets TS, Nocera DG (2010) Solar energy
supply and storage for the legacy and nonlegacy worlds. Chem Rev 110(11):6474–6502
7. Tollefson J (2011) How green is my future? Nature 473(7346):134–135
8. Service, R. F (2011) Turning over a new leaf. Science 334(6058):925–927
9. Tachibana Y, Vayssieres L, Durrant JR (2012) Artificial photosynthesis for solar watersplitting. Nat Photonics 6(8):511–518
436
H.-T. Zhang and M.-T. Zhang
the presence of intramolecular base could provide effective assistance for proton
transfer in the catalytic process, which provided some new ideas for the design of
better catalysts and catalytic systems.
4 Conclusion and Perspective
The exploration of artificial photosynthesis is of great significance for the development of green hydrogen energy. It can provide a large amount of scientific theoretical support for the future conversion of light energy to hydrogen energy. In artificial
photosynthesis, hydrogen evolution catalysts (HECs) and water oxidation catalysts
(WOCs) play an essential role, liking the engine of a car. In the last few decades,
researchers have developed a variety of HECs and WOCs and accumulated some
knowledge on the catalytic mechanism. However, these developed catalysts do still
not meet industrial applications, and there is still a long way to go. Pincer ligands
have been extensively applied in molecular catalysts for artificial photosynthesis,
they are generally used as a ligand to construct the molecular skeleton to provide
enhanced chemical and thermal stability which serve to minimize the leaching of the
metal during the catalytic cycle, but less directly participating in the regulation and
transportation of electrons or protons in the catalytic process. To develop a new type
of molecular catalyst is the bottleneck for water splitting and required easily
functionalizable and tunable ligand systems for controlling the electron-proton
transfer and bond cleavage/formation. Pincer ligands provide such a platform for
molecular design and modification and thus good candidates.
References
1. Sun L, Hammarström L, Åkermark B, Styring S (2001) Towards artificial photosynthesis:
ruthenium–manganese chemistry for energy production. Chem Soc Rev 30(1):36–49
2. Chow J, Kopp RJ, Portney PR (2003) Energy resources and global development. Science 302
(5650):1528–1531
3. Lewis NS, Nocera DG (2006) Powering the planet: chemical challenges in solar energy
utilization. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 103(43):15729–15735
4. Morton O (2006) Solar energy: a new day dawning? Silicon Valley sunrise. Nature 443
(7107):19–22
5. Allakhverdiev SI, Casal JJ, Nagata T (2009) Photosynthesis from molecular perspectives:
towards future energy production. Photochem Photobiol Sci 8(2):137–138
6. Cook TR, Dogutan DK, Reece SY, Surendranath Y, Teets TS, Nocera DG (2010) Solar energy
supply and storage for the legacy and nonlegacy worlds. Chem Rev 110(11):6474–6502
7. Tollefson J (2011) How green is my future? Nature 473(7346):134–135
8. Service, R. F (2011) Turning over a new leaf. Science 334(6058):925–927
9. Tachibana Y, Vayssieres L, Durrant JR (2012) Artificial photosynthesis for solar watersplitting. Nat Photonics 6(8):511–518
436
H.-T. Zhang and M.-T. Zhang