This review concerns the efficient conversion of sunlight into chemical fuels through the photoelectrochemical splitting of water, which has the potential to generate sustainable hydrogen fuel. In this review, we discuss various photoelectrode materials and relative design strategies with their associated fabrication for solar water splitting. Factors affecting photoelectrochemical performance of these materials and designs are also described. The most recent progress in the research and development of new materials as well as their corresponding photoelectrodes is also summarized in this review. Finally, the research strategies and future directions for water splitting are discussed with recommendations to facilitate the further exploration of new photoelectrode materials and their associated technologies.

Artificial photosynthesis using semiconductors has been investigated for more than three decades for the purpose of transferring solar energy into chemical fuels. Numerous studies have revealed that the introduction of plasmonic materials into photochemical reaction can substantially enhance the photo response to the solar splitting of water. Until recently, few systematic studies have provided clear evidence concerning how plasmon excitation and which factor dominates the solar splitting of water in photovoltaic devices. This work demonstrates the effects of plasmons upon an Au nanostructure-ZnO nanorods array as a photoanode. Several strategies have been successfully adopted to reveal the mutually independent contributions of various plasmonic effects under solar irradiation. These have clarified that the coupling of hot electrons that are formed by plasmons and the electromagnetic field can effectively increase the probability of a photochemical reaction in the splitting of water. These findings support a new approach to investigating localized plasmon-induced effects and charge separation in photoelectrochemical processes, and solar water splitting was used herein as platform to explore mechanisms of enhancement of surface plasmon resonance.

A successive preparation of FeCo2O4 nanoflakes arrays on nickel foam substrates is achieved by a simple hydrothermal synthesis method. After 170 cycles, a high capacity of 905 mAh g(-1) at 200 mA g(-1) current density and very good rate capabilities are obtained for lithium-ion battery because of the 2D porous structures of the nanoflakes arrays. The distinctive structural features provide the battery with excellent electrochemical performance. The symmetric supercapacitor on nonaqueous electrolyte demonstrates high specific capacitance of 433 F g(-1) at 0.1 A g(-1) and 16.7 F g(-1) at high scan rate of 5 V s(-1) and excellent cyclic performance of 2500 cycles of charge-discharge cycling at 2 A g(-1) current density, revealing excellent long-term cyclability of the electrode even under rapid charge-discharge conditions.

A photoconversion efficiency of 1.83 % was observed for a photodevice based on ZnO nanowires sensitized with CdTe quantum dots (QDs; see picture; FTO=F‐doped SnO2), which is more than 200 % greater than that of pristine ZnO nanowires. The presence of CdTe QDs on the surface of ZnO nanowires was confirmed by HRTEM and elemental mapping.

Previous studies have shown that hydrogen treatment leads to the formation of blue to black TiO2, which exhibits photocatalytic activity different from that of white pristine TiO2. However, the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. Herein, density functional theory is combined with comprehensive analytical approaches such as X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy and transient absorption spectroscopy to gain fundamental understanding of the correlation among the oxygen vacancy, electronic band structure, charge separation, charge carrier lifetime, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and photocatalytic activity. The present work reveals that hydrogen treatment results in chemical reduction of TiO2, inducing surface and subsurface oxygen vacancies, which create shallow and deep sub-band gap Ti­(III) states below the conduction band. This leads to a blue color but limited enhancement of visible light photocatalytic activity up to 440 nm at the cost of reduced ultraviolet photocatalytic activity. The extended light absorption spectral range for reduced TiO2 is ascribed to both the defect-to-conduction band transitions and the valence band-to-defect transitions. The photogenerated charge carriers from the defect states to the conduction band have lifetimes too short to drive photocatalysis. The Ti­(III) deep and shallow trap states below the conduction band are also found to reduce the lifetime of photogenerated charge carriers under ultraviolet light irradiation. The ROS generated by the reduced TiO2 are less than those generated by pristine TiO2. Consequently, the reduced TiO2 exhibits ultraviolet-responsive photocatalytic activity worse than that of pristine TiO2. This report shows that increasing the light absorption spectral range of a semiconductor by doping or introduction of defects does not necessarily guarantee an increase in photocatalytic activity.