Mechanistic Understanding of Efficient Photocatalytic H2 Evolution on Two-Dimensional Layered Lead Iodide Hybrid Perovskites

Three-dimensional (3D) organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites have demonstrated excellent capability in solar fuel production, while the two-dimensional (2D) counterparts are generally considered inferior candidates due to the high exciton binding energy and weak light absorption. Herein, contrary to our common understanding, we find that 2D perovskites can perform photocatalytic H-2 production from HI splitting more efficiently than their 3D counterparts. We observed sharp difference between 2D perovskites crystals with organic phenylalkylammonium cations of different lengths and the 3D counterparts in their stabilization behavior in aqueous solution. Moreover, we show that the organic cations length of the 2D perovskites affects the nanostructures, optoelectronic properties, and the charge transfer process significantly, which determines the photocatalytic activity of the 2D perovskites. Among the 2D perovskites under investigation, phenylmethylammonium lead iodide with the shortest organic cations achieved the best solar-to-chemical conversion efficiency of ca. 1.57 %, which is the highest value ever reported for hybrid perovskites.