Electrochemical Polymerization Provides a Function‐Integrated System for Water Oxidation

Abstract

AbstractWater oxidation is a key reaction in natural and artificial photosynthesis. In nature, the reaction is efficiently catalyzed by a metal‐complex‐based catalyst surrounded by hole‐transporting amino acid residues. However, in artificial systems, there is no example of a water oxidation system that has a catalytic center surrounded by hole transporters. Herein, we present a facile strategy to integrate catalytic centers and hole transporters in one system. Electrochemical polymerization of a metal‐complex‐based precursor afforded a polymer‐based material (Poly‐1). Poly‐1 exhibited excellent hole‐transporting ability and catalyzed water oxidation with high performance. It was also revealed that the catalytic activity was almost completely suppressed in the absence of the hole‐transporting moieties. The present study provides a novel strategy for constructing efficient molecule‐based systems for water oxidation.