Air- and water-stable and photocatalytically active germanium-based 2D perovskites by organic spacer engineering

There is increasing interest in the role of metal halide perovskites for heterogeneous catalysis. Here, we report a Ge-based 2D perovskite material that shows intrinsic water stability realized through organic cation engineering. Incorporating 4-phenylbenzilammonium (PhBz) we demonstrate, by means of extended experimental and computa-tional results, that PhBz2GeBr4 and PhBz2GeI4 can achieve relevant air and water stability. The creation of composites embedding graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) allows a proof of concept for light-induced hydrogen evolution in an aqueous environment by 2D Ge-based perovskites thanks to the effective charge transfer at the heterojunction between the two semiconductors.