Dye-sensitized photocatalytic systems (DSPs) have been extensively investigated for solar-driven hydrogen (H2) evolution. However, their application in carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction remains limited. Furthermore, current solar-driven CO2-to-CO DSPs typically employ rhenium complexes as catalysts. In this study, we have developed DSPs that incorporate noble metal-free components, specifically a zinc-porphyrin as photosensitizer (PS) and a cobalt-quaterpyridine as catalyst (CAT). Taking a significant stride forward, we have achieved an antenna effect for the first time in CO2-to-CO DSPs by introducing a Bodipy as an additional chromophore to enhance light harvesting efficiency. The energy transfer from Bodipy to zinc porphyrin resulted in remarkable stability (turn over number (TON)=759 vs. CAT), and high CO evolution activity (42?mmol?g?1?h?1 vs. CAT).

There is a growing interest in developing dye-sensitized photocatalytic systems (DSPs) to produce molecular hydrogen (H2) as alternative energy source. To improve the sustainability of this technology, we replaced the sacrificial electron donor (SED), typically an expensive and polluting chemical, with an alcohol oxidation catalyst. This study demonstrates the first dye-sensitized system using a diketopyrrolopyrrole dye covalently linked to 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidine-N-oxyl (TEMPO) based catalyst for simultaneous H2 evolution and alcohol-to-aldehyde transformation operating in water with visible irradiation.

This study addresses a practical aspect of hybrid dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cells by exploring a simple method to prepare multicomponent systems. Building on a previously reported methodology based on a copper-free click chemistry dipolar cycloaddition of azide with activated alkyne, a naphthalene diimide (NDI) derivative substituted with two propiolic esters was clicked on a NiO photocathode already coated with a diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) dye bearing two azido groups. A detailed photophysical study by transient absorption spectroscopy demonstrates that optical excitation of DPP dye leads to an effective electron transfer chain from the NiO valence band to the NDI passing via the DPP dye, resulting in a long-lived charge-separated state (hole in NiO/NDI radical anion) of 170 μs. The p-type dye-sensitized solar cells were also fabricated with the above molecular components and confirm the occurrence of the electron transfer as the performances of the solar cells were improved in terms of Voc and Jsc compared to the DPP dye lacking the NDI unit. The above-clicked system was also compared to a covalently linked DPP–NDI dyad, whose performances are 30% superior to the clicked system probably due to longer mean distance between the NiO surface and the NDI with the dyad. This finding paves the way for the design of multicomponent hybrid dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cells by chemistry on the electrode.