Significant hydrogen generation via photo-mechanical coupling in flexible methylammonium lead iodide nanowires

The flexoelectric effect, which refers to the mechanical-electric coupling between strain gradient and charge polarization, should be considered for use in charge production for catalytically driving chemical reactions. We have previously revealed that halide perovskites can generate orders of higher magnitude flexoelectricity under the illumination of light than in the dark. In this study, we report the catalytic hydrogen production by photo-mechanical coupling involving the photoflexoelectric effect of flexible methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI₃) nanowires (NWs) in hydrogen iodide solution. Upon concurrent light illumination and mechanical vibration, large strain gradients were introduced in flexible MAPbI₃ NWs, which subsequently induced significant hydrogen generation (at a rate of 756.5 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹, surpassing those values from either photo- or piezocatalysis of MAPbI₃ nanoparticles). This photo-mechanical coupling strategy of mechanocatalysis, which enables the simultaneous utilization of multiple energy sources, provides a potentially new mechanism in mechanochemistry for highly efficient hydrogen production. © 2024 The Royal Society of Chemistry.