Orange Zinc Germanate with Metallic Ge-Ge Bonds as a Chromophore-Like Center for Visible-Light-Driven Water Splitting.
The efficiency of solar-energy-conversion devices depends on the absorption region and intensity of the photon collectors. Organic chromophores, which have been widely stabilized on inorganic semiconductors for light trapping, are limited by the interface between the chromophore and semiconductor. Herein we report a novel orange zinc germanate (Zn-Ge-O) with a chromophore-like structure, by which the absorption region can be dramatically expanded. Structural characterizations and theoretical calculations together reveal that the origin of visible-light response can be attributed to the unusual metallic Ge-Ge bonds which act in a similar way to organic chromophores. Benefiting from the enhanced light harvest, the orange Zn-Ge-O demonstrates superior capacity for solar-driven hydrogen production.
Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai, 200237 (China).
Ling
L
Qian
Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Centre for Computational Chemistry and Research Institute of Industrial Catalysis, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai, 200237 (China).
Jian Fu
JF
Chen
Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai, 200237 (China).
Yu Hang
YH
Li
Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai, 200237 (China).
Long
L
Wu
Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Centre for Computational Chemistry and Research Institute of Industrial Catalysis, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai, 200237 (China).
Hai Feng
HF
Wang
Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai, 200237 (China).
Ai Ping
AP
Chen
Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Centre for Computational Chemistry and Research Institute of Industrial Catalysis, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai, 200237 (China).|School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering the Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast BT9 5AG, UK.
P
P
Hu
Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China). zhenglr@ihep.ac.cn.
Li Rong
LR
Zheng
Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai, 200237 (China). hgyang@ecust.edu.cn.
Hua Gui
HG
Yang
GeGe bonds; chromophore-like structures; hydrogen evolution; semiconductors; visible-light responsive