Abstract
In photobiocatalytical processes involving the simultaneous oxidation of water and reduction of specific organic molecules (e.g., cofactors), the lack of physical separation of the redox half-reactions adversely affects the product stability. This is largely because organic molecules are generally less stable within harsh oxidative environments. In general, surface co-catalysts are able to improve the selectivity of photo-catalysts towards water oxidation. However, harsh oxidative environments reduce the chemical stability of the organic molecules. Herein, we show that the use of Co3O4 as a surface co-catalyst on silver ortho-phosphate improve water photo-oxidation in the presence of organic dye molecules, such as methylene blue, that typically exhibits susceptibility toward photodegradation. The presence of Co3O4 on the photo-catalyst surface prevents the adsorption of the organic dye, thus reducing its degradation rate. These findings provide a promising scenario for the visible light-driven reduction of organic molecules using water as an electron donor.
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Acknowledgements
MG acknowledges the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO) (MAT2013-49375-EXP). J. B. and V. P. acknowledge MINECO for the grant BIO2014-59741-R. A. C. acknowledges Spanish Ministry of Science and Education, Consolider-Ingenio 2010 Program, Project No. CSD2006-53. Authors thank Ana Sánchez-Iglesias, Daniel Padró and Yury Rakovich for assistance with TEM, NMR, and fluorescence characterization.
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Kinastowska, K., Barroso, J., Yate, L. et al. Cobalt oxide as a selective co-catalyst for water oxidation in the presence of an organic dye. Photochem Photobiol Sci 16, 1771–1777 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1039/c7pp00320j
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/c7pp00320j