@article{Lee:2026:10.1002/adma.73648,
author = {Lee, J-W and Sun, C and Song, Y and Dong, G and Ai, K and Cazaly, SA and Eisner, F and Kim, BJ and Hamid, Z and McCulloch, I and Kim, Y-H and Durrant, JR},
doi = {10.1002/adma.73648},
journal = {Adv Mater},
title = {Linker-Engineered Dimeric Acceptors Afford Efficient Organic Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution via Tailored Nanomorphology for Long-Lived Charge Accumulation.},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adma.73648},
year = {2026}
}

Download

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Organic bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) nanoparticles are promising candidates for solar-to-hydrogen conversion. While the development of organic photocatalysts (OPCs) has leveraged advances in organic photovoltaics (OPVs), molecular design rules tailored to photocatalysis remain underdeveloped. Here we introduce linker-engineered dimeric acceptors that tune self-assembly and thereby control BHJ nanoparticle morphology, enabling high-performance OPCs. Two dimer acceptors, DY1 (unfused linker) and DY2 (fused linker), are synthesised from a monomer analogue (MY), establishing a self-assembly trend of MY > DY2 > DY1. The stronger intermolecular assembly of MY is consistent with a quasi-core-shell morphology that reduces catalytically accessible donor-acceptor interfaces, whereas the weaker intermolecular assembly of DY1 is associated with a more intermixed morphology and increased recombination losses. In contrast, DY2 exhibits a morphology consistent with improved pathway continuity and sufficient donor/acceptor exposure at the particle surface, supporting enhanced accumulation of long-lived, surface-stabilised charges. Consequently, PM6:DY2 OPCs deliver a hydrogen evolution rate of 25.3 µmol h-1 cm-2, outperforming PM6:MY (1.9 µmol h-1 cm-2) and PM6:DY1 (11.9 µmol h-1 cm-2). Notably, this performance trend contrasts with that of the corresponding OPVs, suggesting that photovoltaic design principles do not necessarily translate directly to photocatalysts.
AU  - Lee,J-W
AU  - Sun,C
AU  - Song,Y
AU  - Dong,G
AU  - Ai,K
AU  - Cazaly,SA
AU  - Eisner,F
AU  - Kim,BJ
AU  - Hamid,Z
AU  - McCulloch,I
AU  - Kim,Y-H
AU  - Durrant,JR
DO  - 10.1002/adma.73648
PY  - 2026///
TI  - Linker-Engineered Dimeric Acceptors Afford Efficient Organic Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution via Tailored Nanomorphology for Long-Lived Charge Accumulation.
T2  - Adv Mater
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adma.73648
UR  - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/42311065
ER  - 

Download