Water splitting on semiconductor catalysts under visible-light irradiation.

Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica, CSIC, Madrid, Spain.
ChemSusChem (Impact Factor: 7.48). 07/2009; 2(6):471-85. DOI: 10.1002/cssc.200900018
Source: PubMed

ABSTRACT Sustainable hydrogen production is a key target for the development of alternative, future energy systems that will provide a clean and affordable energy supply. The Sun is a source of silent and precious energy that is distributed fairly all over the Earth daily. However, its tremendous potential as a clean, safe, and economical energy source cannot be exploited unless the energy is accumulated or converted into more useful forms. The conversion of solar energy into hydrogen via the water-splitting process, assisted by photo-semiconductor catalysts, is one of the most promising technologies for the future because large quantities of hydrogen can potentially be generated in a clean and sustainable manner. This Minireview provides an overview of the principles, approaches, and research progress on solar hydrogen production via the water-splitting reaction on photo-semiconductor catalysts. It presents a survey of the advances made over the last decades in the development of catalysts for photochemical water splitting under visible-light irradiation. The Minireview also analyzes the energy requirements and main factors that determine the activity of photocatalysts in the conversion of water into hydrogen and oxygen using sunlight. Remarkable progress has been made since the pioneering work by Fujishima and Honda in 1972, but he development of photocatalysts with improved efficiencies for hydrogen production from water using solar energy still faces major challenges. Research strategies and approaches adopted in the search for active and efficient photocatalysts, for example through new materials and synthesis methods, are presented and analyzed.

1 Bookmark
  • Source
    [Show abstract] [Hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: The ZnO is able to produce hydrogen from water however it can only absorb ultraviolet region due to its 3.37eV of wide band gap. Therefore efficiency of solar hydrogen production is low. In this work we report investigation results of improved visible light photo-catalytic properties of CdSe quantum dots(QDs) sensitized ZnO nanorod heterostructures. Hydrothermally vertically grown ZnO nanorod arrays on FTO glass were sensitized with CdSe by using SILAR(successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction) method. Morphology of grown ZnO and CdSe sensitized ZnO nanorods had been investigated by FE-SEM that shows length of , diameter of 120~150nm nanorod respectively. Photocatalytic measurements revealed that heterostructured samples show improved photocurrent density under the visible light illumination. Improved visible light performance of the heterostructures is resulting from narrow band gap of the CdSe and its favorable conduction band positions relative to potentials of ZnO band and water redox reaction.
    Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society. 01/2013; 24(2).
  • [Show abstract] [Hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: Photocatalytic splitting of water was investigated in a heterogeneous system consisting of micro-crystallites of oxotitanium tetraphenylporphyrin deposited on fused silica plates, immersed in water and excited within the visible range of their absorption spectra. The water photolysis was evidenced by the spectroscopic detection of hydroxyl radicals generated in the reaction. The experimental results confirm the mechanism of water splitting and generation of OH˙ radicals proposed theoretically by Sobolewski and Domcke [Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2012, 14, 12807] for the oxotitaniumporphyrin-water complex. It is shown that photocatalytic water splitting occurs in pure water, and neither pH-bias nor external voltage is required to promote the reaction.
    Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 06/2014; · 4.20 Impact Factor
  • Source
    [Show abstract] [Hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: The photocatalytic activity of a new nanostructured Ni-doped niobate KSr2(Ni0.75Nb4.25)O15-delta was studied using the phenol red dye as a test molecule and the influence of amorphous carbon deposits upon the photoactivity of the niobate-based materials was also verified. KSr2(Ni0.75Nb4.25)O15-delta powder was prepared by a high energy ball milling method and the C-KSr2(Ni0.75Nb4.25)O15-delta composite by the partial pyrolysis of the niobate dispersed in a polyester matrix. Materials were characterized by FM spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The diffraction line profile and the refinement of the structural parameters of KSr2(Ni0.75Nb4.25)O15-delta were derived by the Rietveld method. Both samples showed similar phenol red photodegradation under steady-state kinetic conditions. However, amorphous carbon seems to beneficially affect the reaction mechanism which followed first order kinetics. In terms of KSr2(Ni0.75Nb4.25)O15-delta concentration a clear enhancement in the photoactivity of the niobate in the presence of amorphous carbon by a factor 4.7 was found suggesting a synergy effect between both solids. We conclude that C-KSr2(Ni0.75Nb4.25)O15-delta composite can be employed for the photocatalytic degradation of diluted pollutants.
    Ceramics International 08/2014; 40(7):9525-9534. · 2.09 Impact Factor