Cell-inspired nanoreactor turns sunlight into hydrogen peroxide
A new hollow nanoreactor mimics living cells to make hydrogen peroxide more efficiently using visible light. Its light-trapping cavity and proton-shuttling shell could open new possibilities for cleaner chemical manufacturing and artificial photosynthesis.
Scientists have developed a nanoreactor inspired by the structure and function of living cells to convert sunlight into hydrogen peroxide. The hollow CdS@polydopamine nanoreactor mimics two key aspects of biological systems. The polydopamine shell contains a dynamic catechol/o-benzoquinone redox pair, which functions as a proton relay, speeding up proton-coupled electron transfer, a process where proton and electron movement are closely linked.
The nanoreactor also features a compartmentalized structure with a nanoscale hollow cavity surrounded by a porous shell, creating a confined space for reactants to accumulate. This design supports molecular diffusion and traps incoming photons, enhancing the efficiency of light-driven reactions. When exposed to visible light in an aqueous solution, the nanoreactor achieved a hydrogen peroxide production rate of 3.24 mmol gcat-1 h-1 and a solar-to-chemical conversion efficiency of 1.2%.
The research, led by Prof. LI Can at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics and Prof. Jian Liu from Inner Mongolia University, was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The study provides a new approach to engineering biomimetic nanoreactors that closely replicate the complex functions of living cells, with potential applications in artificial photosynthesis, energy catalysis, and synthetic chemistry.
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