Porphyrins Acting as Photosensitizers in the Photocatalytic CO<sub>2</sub> Reduction Reaction

The success of the photocatalytic CO<sub>2</sub> reduction using sunlight depends on how visible light is captured and utilized. Zn porphyrins, which are synthetic analogues of chlorophyll and bacteriochlorophyll, have very intense absorption bands in the visible region and are high pote...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yusuke Kuramochi, Akiharu Satake
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-01-01
Series:Catalysts
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/13/2/282
Description
Summary:The success of the photocatalytic CO<sub>2</sub> reduction using sunlight depends on how visible light is captured and utilized. Zn porphyrins, which are synthetic analogues of chlorophyll and bacteriochlorophyll, have very intense absorption bands in the visible region and are high potential candidates as photosensitizers for CO<sub>2</sub> reduction. However, the use of zinc porphyrins had been limited due to their poor stability under the photocatalytic reduction conditions. We found that the durability of porphyrin during the photocatalytic CO<sub>2</sub> reduction reaction is dramatically improved by combining a metal complex catalyst with the porphyrin so that two or more electrons are not accumulated on the porphyrin. In this perspective, we describe the molecular design of systems that combine Re complexes and porphyrins in detail and their unique reaction mechanisms in the photocatalytic CO<sub>2</sub> reduction.
ISSN:2073-4344