Hydrogen Production by Photocatalytic Water Splitting

Abstract

Hydrogen gas as a fuel has the potential to alleviate the threat of global climate change and help to avoid various undesirable effects caused by the mass consumption of fossil fuel. Photocatalytic water splitting has been widely studied as a potential method to produce H2 from renewable solar energy. Photocatalysts that can operate under visible light irradiation (λ 400 nm), which forms the main part of sunlight, are highly desirable. Successful two-step water splitting systems (Z-scheme) that operate with or without a reversible redox couple have been reported for the application of visible light-driven photocatalysts. The Z-scheme system, which mimics photosynthesis in green plants, consists of two photocatalysts, one for H2 evolution, and the other for O2 evolution. The Z-scheme process can utilize a wider range of visible light than the conventional one-step excitation system because the energy required to drive each photocatalyst can be reduced. This review presents recent research progress in the development of visible light-driven photocatalytic materials with a focus on Z-scheme water splitting.

Interconversion of Formate/Bicarbonate for Hydrogen Storage/Release: Improved Activity Following Sacrificial Surface Modification of a Ag@Pd/TiO2 Catalyst with a TiOx Shell

“…Hydrogen is widely regarded as an extremely sustainable, clean energy source with the potential to replace fossil fuels. − The use of hydrogen would allow the development of carbon-free energy storage and release systems since hydrogen produces only water as a byproduct during energy extraction via combustion and can be produced from the electrolysis , or photolysis − of water. However, there are challenges associated with the use of hydrogen, especially with regard to transportation because of its extremely low volumetric energy density and explosive potential .…”

Calcined Nickel‐Cobalt Mixed Metal Phosphonate with Efficient Electrocatalytic Activity for Oxygen Evolution Reaction

“…Due to the need for sustainable energy and the consumption of fossil fuels, the energy conversion and storage technologies have recently attracted extensive attentions, such as water splitting and metal−air batteries . Oxygen evolution reaction is critical part of water splitting.…”

Recent Progress of Electrocatalysts and Photocatalysts Bearing First Row Transition Metal for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER)

“…Hence, for long-term use, it is imperative to build up highly proficient H 2 generation systems with long lifetimes and high durability. Many reviews have been published on solar H 2 evolution systems based on photocatalysts [41][42][43][44].…”

“…Transition metal cations with partial filled d-electronic configurations are considered as catalyst. The characteristic feature of this type of catalyst is that the metal ions can exist in higher oxidation state [44]. There are several literatures reported with partially filled d-orbital which show high stability toward water-splitting reactions [50][51][52][53].…”