Hydrogen evolution via noble metals based photocatalysts: A review

In recent decades, the use of photocatalysts in the evolution of hydrogen (H2) has received much attention. However, the use of the well-known titanium oxide and another photocatalyst as a base for noble metals is limited due to their major weakness in electron-hole pair separation. The use of cocatalysts can be a good way to overcome this problem and provide better performance for the evolution of hydrogen. In this review, suitable high-efficiency cocatalysts for solar hydrogen production have been thoroughly reviewed. New strategies and solutions were examined in terms of increasing the recombination of charge carriers, designing reactive sites, and enhancing the wavelengths of light absorption. Several new types of cocatalysts based on semiconductors in noble groups and dual metals have been evaluated. It is expected that these photocatalysts will be able to reduce the activation energy of reaction and charge separation. In this regard, the existing views and challenges in the field of photocatalysts are presented. The characteristics of monoatomic photocatalysts are reviewed in this manuscript and the latest advances in this field are summarized. Further, the future trends and upcoming research are also briefly discussed. Finally, this review presents noble metal-based photocatalysts for providing suitable photocatalysts on a larger scale and improving their applicability.

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Direct Observation of Entropy-Driven Electron-Hole Pair Separation at an Organic Semiconductor Interface

Physical Review Letters ◽

10.1103/physrevlett.114.247003 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 114 (24) ◽

Cited By ~ 62

Author(s):

Nicholas R. Monahan ◽

Kristopher W. Williams ◽

Bharat Kumar ◽

Colin Nuckolls ◽

X.-Y. Zhu

Keyword(s):

Direct Observation ◽

Organic Semiconductor ◽

Hole Pair ◽

Electron Hole ◽

Semiconductor Interface ◽

Pair Separation ◽

Electron Hole Pair

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Preparation of high efficiency visible light activated Pt/CdS photocatalyst for solar hydrogen production

10.1117/12.734026 ◽

2007 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Cunping Huang ◽

Bello Illiassou ◽

Ali T-Raissi ◽

Nazim Muradov

Keyword(s):

Hydrogen Production ◽

Visible Light ◽

High Efficiency ◽

Solar Hydrogen ◽

Solar Hydrogen Production

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Concentrated photovoltaic electrochemical cell (CPEC): A route toward high-efficiency, cost-effective solar hydrogen production

2015 IEEE 42nd Photovoltaic Specialist Conference (PVSC) ◽

10.1109/pvsc.2015.7355769 ◽

2015 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Masakazu Sugiyama ◽

Akihiro Nakamura ◽

Kentaroh Watanabe ◽

Yasuyuki Ota ◽

Kensuke Nishioka ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hydrogen Production ◽

High Efficiency ◽

Electrochemical Cell ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Solar Hydrogen ◽

Efficiency Cost ◽

Solar Hydrogen Production

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Photocatalytic water splitting by N-TiO2 on MgO (111) with exceptional quantum efficiencies at elevated temperatures

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-019-12385-1 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

Yiyang Li ◽

Yung-Kang Peng ◽

Liangsheng Hu ◽

Jianwei Zheng ◽

Dharmalingam Prabhakaran ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Splitting ◽

Elevated Temperatures ◽

Practical Method ◽

Charge Carriers ◽

Molar Ratio ◽

Electron Hole ◽

Photocatalytic Water Splitting ◽

The Past ◽

Electron Hole Pair ◽

Electric Field Polarization

Abstract Photocatalytic water splitting is attracting enormous interest for the storage of solar energy but no practical method has yet been identified. In the past decades, various systems have been developed but most of them suffer from low activities, a narrow range of absorption and poor quantum efficiencies (Q.E.) due to fast recombination of charge carriers. Here we report a dramatic suppression of electron-hole pair recombination on the surface of N-doped TiO2 based nanocatalysts under enhanced concentrations of H+ and OH−, and local electric field polarization of a MgO (111) support during photolysis of water at elevated temperatures. Thus, a broad optical absorption is seen, producing O2 and H2 in a 1:2 molar ratio with a H2 evolution rate of over 11,000 μmol g−1 h−1 without any sacrificial reagents at 270 °C. An exceptional range of Q.E. from 81.8% at 437 nm to 3.2% at 1000 nm is also reported.

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Oxyhydroxide Nanosheets with Highly Efficient Electron-Hole Pair Separation for Hydrogen Evolution

Angewandte Chemie International Edition ◽

10.1002/anie.201510642 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 55 (6) ◽

pp. 2137-2141 ◽

Cited By ~ 60

Author(s):

Junheng Huang ◽

Qichao Shang ◽

Yuanyuan Huang ◽

Fumin Tang ◽

Qun Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hydrogen Evolution ◽

Hole Pair ◽

Electron Hole ◽

Highly Efficient ◽

Pair Separation ◽

Electron Hole Pair

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Nanostructure designs for effective solar-to-hydrogen conversion

Nanophotonics ◽

10.1515/nanoph-2012-0010 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 31-50 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Shaohua Shen ◽

Samuel S. Mao

Keyword(s):

Surface Engineering ◽

High Efficiency ◽

Solar Light ◽

Catalyst Loading ◽

Solar Hydrogen ◽

New Concepts ◽

Ion Doping ◽

First Results ◽

Solar Hydrogen Production ◽

Surface Reaction Kinetics

AbstractConversion of energy from photons in sunlight to hydrogen through solar splitting of water is an important technology. The rising significance of producing hydrogen from solar light via water splitting has motivated a surge of developing semiconductor solar-active nanostructures as photocatalysts and photoelectrodes. Traditional strategies have been developed to enhance solar light absorption (e.g., ion doping, solid solution, narrow-band-gap semiconductor or dye sensitization) and improve charge separation/transport to prompt surface reaction kinetics (e.g., semiconductor combination, co-catalyst loading, nanostructure design) for better utilizing solar energy. However, the solar-to-hydrogen efficiency is still limited. This article provides an overview of recently demonstrated novel concepts of nanostructure designs for efficient solar hydrogen conversion, which include surface engineering, novel nanostructured heterojunctions, and photonic crystals. Those first results outlined in the main text encouragingly point out the prominence and promise of these new concepts principled for designing high-efficiency electronic and photonic nanostructures that could serve for sustainable solar hydrogen production.

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First Principles Study on Electronic and Optical Properties of Quinary Copper-based Sulfides and Selenides Cu2HgGe(S1-xSex)4

VNU Journal of Science Mathematics - Physics ◽

10.25073/2588-1124/vnumap.4524 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 37 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Pham Dinh Khang ◽

Vo Duy Dat ◽

Dang Phuc Toan ◽

Vu Van Tuan

Keyword(s):

Optical Properties ◽

Band Gap ◽

Density Functional ◽

Hybrid Functional ◽

Electron Hole ◽

Functional Theory ◽

Electronic And Optical Properties ◽

Pair Separation ◽

Electron Hole Pair ◽

Band Transition

Electronic and optical properties of Cu2HgGe(S1-xSex)4 compounds (x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1) were revealed by density functional theory (DFT), in which the Heyd-Scuseria-Ernzerhof hybrid functional was used. Dependence of band gap on the Se constituent in Cu2HgGe(S1-xSex)4 was reported. The substitution of Se element basically cause a slightly lattice expansion and minor change of the band gap. Meanwhile, the overlap of Cu and S/Se states becomes more dense leading to better electron/hole pair separation and inter-band transition of photo-excited electrons. The Cu2HgGe(S0.75Se0.25)4 compound was predicted to be very promising absorber due to the low band gap, high absorption rate, and low reflectivity in the incoming light energy range from 0 eV to 2 eV.

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Synthesis and Characterization of Amorphous Molybdenum Sulfide (MoSx)/CdIn2S4 Composite Photocatalyst: Co-Catalyst Using in the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Catalysts ◽

10.3390/catal10121455 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. 1455

Author(s):

Qi Li ◽

Wanli Liu ◽

Xuejian Xie ◽

Xianglong Yang ◽

Xiufang Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hydrogen Production ◽

Separation Efficiency ◽

Photogenerated Electron ◽

Molybdenum Sulfide ◽

Electron Hole ◽

Composite Photocatalyst ◽

Co Catalyst ◽

Pair Separation ◽

Electron Hole Pair

Co-catalyst deposition is used to improve the surface and electrical properties of photocatalysts. In this work, MoSx/CdIn2S4 nanocomposites were prepared by a facile hydrothermal and photodeposition route. The basic crystalline phases and morphology of the as-prepared samples were determined, and these results showed that MoSx was tightly anchored onto CdIn2S4 by sharing the same S atom. In the hydrogen production experiments, MoSx/CdIn2S4-40 displayed the optimal photocatalytic hydrogen production yield in 4 h. The H2 evolution rate reached 2846.73 μmol/g/h, which was 13.6-times higher than that of pure CdIn2S4. Analyzing the photocatalytic enhancement mechanisms revealed that this unique structure had a remarkable photogenerated electron-hole pair separation efficiency, rapid charge carrier transfer channels, and more abundant surface reaction sites. The use of co-catalyst (MoSx) greatly improved the photocatalytic activity of CdIn2S4.

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Construction of a novel Cu2(OH)3F/g-C3N4 heterojunction as a high-activity Fenton-like catalyst driven by visible light

New Journal of Chemistry ◽

10.1039/d1nj02091a ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lifen Wang ◽

Yinjun Lin ◽

Wenting Guo ◽

Yuanyuan Yang ◽

Ruiqin Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Visible Light ◽

High Activity ◽

Photogenerated Electron ◽

Hole Pair ◽

Competitive Effect ◽

Electron Hole ◽

Fenton Reagents ◽

Pair Separation ◽

Electron Hole Pair

Inhibiting the competitive effect of O2 in copper-based Fenton reagents and improving the photogenerated electron–hole pair separation of g-C3N4 are the focus of current research.

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