• Media type: E-Article
  • Title: Photoelectrochemical H2 Evolution with a Hydrogenase Immobilized on a TiO2‐Protected Silicon Electrode
  • Contributor: Lee, Chong‐Yong; Park, Hyun S.; Fontecilla‐Camps, Juan C.; Reisner, Erwin
  • imprint: Wiley, 2016
  • Published in: Angewandte Chemie
  • Language: English
  • DOI: 10.1002/ange.201511822
  • ISSN: 0044-8249; 1521-3757
  • Keywords: General Medicine
  • Origination:
  • Footnote:
  • Description: <jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>The combination of enzymes with semiconductors enables the photoelectrochemical characterization of electron‐transfer processes at highly active and well‐defined catalytic sites on a light‐harvesting electrode surface. Herein, we report the integration of a hydrogenase on a TiO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>‐coated p‐Si photocathode for the photo‐reduction of protons to H<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>. The immobilized hydrogenase exhibits activity on Si attributable to a bifunctional TiO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> layer, which protects the Si electrode from oxidation and acts as a biocompatible support layer for the productive adsorption of the enzyme. The p‐Si|TiO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>|hydrogenase photocathode displays visible‐light driven production of H<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> at an energy‐storing, positive electrochemical potential and an essentially quantitative faradaic efficiency. We have thus established a widely applicable platform to wire redox enzymes in an active configuration on a p‐type semiconductor photocathode through the engineering of the enzyme–materials interface.</jats:p>