Water oxidation mediated by ruthenium oxide nanoparticles supported on siliceous mesocellular foam

Abstract

Artificial photosynthesis is an attractive strategy for converting solar energy into fuel. In this context, development of catalysts for oxidation of water to molecular oxygen remains a critical bottleneck. Herein, we describe the preparation of a well-defined nanostructured RuO2 catalyst, which is able to carry out the oxidation of water both chemically and photochemically. The developed heterogeneous RuO2 nanocatalyst was found to be highly active, exceeding the performance of most known heterogeneous water oxidation catalysts when driven by chemical or photogenerated oxidants.