2D Nanomaterials for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production

Abstract

The photocatalytic water splitting technique is a promising alternative to produce hydrogen using a facile and proficient method. In the current Review, recent progress made in photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) using 2D nanomaterials (NMs) and composite heterostructures is described. The strong in-plane chemical bonds along with weak van der Waals interaction make these materials lucrative for surface-related applications. State-of-the-art protocols designed for the synthesis of 2D NMs is discussed in detail. The Review illustrates density functional theory (DFT)-based studies against the new set of 2D NMs, which also highlights the importance of structural defects and doping in the electronic structure. Additionally, the Review describes the influence of electronic, structural, and surface manipulation strategies. These impact the electronic structures, intrinsic conductivity, and finally output toward HER. Moreover, this Review also provides a fresh perspective on the prospects and challenges existing behind the application and fabrication strategies.

Short‐time Thermal Oxidation of Ultrathin and Broadband Carbon Nitride for Efficient Photocatalytic H2 Generation

“…Exfoliating bulk carbon nitride (Bulk CN) into ultrathin structure is deemed to be one of the most efficient approaches . Furthermore, the ultrathin CN (UCN) possesses increased specific surface area, which enables abundant surface adsorption/active sites for photocatalytic reaction . For another, the charge migration distance from the interior to the surface can be shortened due to the reduced thickness of UCN, and then the charge separation/migration efficiency can be improved .…”

2D/2D heterostructured photocatalyst: Rational design for energy and environmental applications

“…Since the groundbreaking discovery of mono-layered graphene [6], plenty of newly developed 2D materials have been applied in many fields including energy storage [7], electrocatalysis [8], sensing [9], and photocatalysis [10]. Particularly, the utilization of 2D materials for photocatalysis has triggered considerable interest, and promptly become one of the hottest research topics [11][12][13]. It has been demonstrated that 2D material-based photocatalysts are expected to offer intriguing features such as high specific surface areas, porous structures, good conductivity and superior electron mobility, rich options of host-guest species and abundant surface active sites, which are beneficial to photocatalytic reactions [14,15].…”

Effect of Supports and Promoters on the Performance of Ni‐Based Catalysts in Ethanol Steam Reforming

“…It is a highly efficient energy carrier (143 MJ kg -1 ) and it is mainly applied in fuel cells [3]. Green hydrogen can be produced from water electrolysis [4,5], photocatalytic methods [6,7], and from steam reforming of organic compounds such as methanol, ethanol, glycerol, acetic acid, acetol, and methane [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. In the latter process, ethanol steam reforming (ESR) to produce hydrogen is a green and promising process because ethanol is a green material arising from biomass via conventional fermentation [22][23][24][25].…”