Future technologies to harness solar energy and to convert this into chemical energy strongly rely on straightforward approaches to prepare versatile soft matter scaffolds for the immobilization of catalysts and sensitizers in a defined environment. In addition, particularly for light-driven hydrogen evolution, a transition to noble metal-free photosensitizers and catalysts is urgently required. Herein, we report a fully organic light-harvesting soft matter network based on a polyampholyte hydrogel where both photosensitizer (a perylene monoimide derivative) and a H₂ evolution catalyst ([Mo₃S₁₃]^2–) are electrostatically incorporated. The resulting material exhibits sustained visible-light-driven H₂ evolution in aqueous ascorbic acid solution, even at rather low loadings of photosensitizer (0.4%) and catalyst (120 ppm). In addition, we provide initial insights into the long-term stability of the hybrid hydrogel. We believe that these results pave the way for a generalized route toward the incorporation of noble metal-free light-driven catalysis in soft matter networks.

中文翻译：

---

聚两性水凝胶网络中的无贵金属光驱动析氢催化

未来利用太阳能并将其转化为化学能的技术在很大程度上依赖于直接的方法来制备多功能软物质支架，以在特定环境中固定催化剂和敏化剂。此外，特别是对于光驱动的析氢，迫切需要过渡到不含贵金属的光敏剂和催化剂。在此，我们报告了一种基于聚两性电解质水凝胶的完全有机的光捕获软物质网络，其中光敏剂（苝单酰亚胺衍生物）和H ₂析出催化剂（[Mo ₃ S ₁₃ ] ^2–）通过静电结合。所得材料在抗坏血酸水溶液中表现出持续的可见光驱动的H ₂释放，即使在光敏剂(0.4%)和催化剂(120 ppm)的负载量相当低的情况下也是如此。此外，我们还对混合水凝胶的长期稳定性提供了初步见解。我们相信这些结果为将不含贵金属的光驱动催化纳入软物质网络的通用途径铺平了道路。