The activity of many water‐splitting photocatalysts could be improved by the use of RhIII–CrIII mixed oxide (Rh2−xCrxO3) particles as cocatalysts. Although further improvement of water‐splitting activity could be achieved if the size of the Rh2−xCrxO3 particles was decreased further, it is difficult to load ultrafine (<2 nm) Rh2−xCrxO3 particles onto a photocatalyst by using conventional loading methods. In this study, a new loading method was successfully established and was used to load Rh2−xCrxO3 particles with a size of approximately 1.3 nm and a narrow size distribution onto a BaLa4Ti4O15 photocatalyst. The obtained photocatalyst exhibited an apparent quantum yield of 16 %, which is the highest achieved for BaLa4Ti4O15 to date. Thus, the developed loading technique of Rh2−xCrxO3 particles is extremely effective at improving the activity of the water‐splitting photocatalyst BaLa4Ti4O15. This method is expected to be extended to other advanced water‐splitting photocatalysts to achieve higher quantum yields.

This review introduces the importance of controlled colloidal NPs/NCs in research on water-splitting photocatalysis by summarizing the existing research.

This feature article describes our previous efforts for creating active water-splitting photocatalysts by using atomically precise metal nanoclusters as cocatalysts.

With global warming and the depletion of fossil resources, our fossil fuel-dependent society is expected to shift to one that instead uses hydrogen (H2) as a clean and renewable energy. To realize this, the photocatalytic water-splitting reaction, which produces H2 from water and solar energy through photocatalysis, has attracted much attention. However, for practical use, the functionality of water-splitting photocatalysts must be further improved to efficiently absorb visible (Vis) light, which accounts for the majority of sunlight. Considering the mechanism of water-splitting photocatalysis, researchers in the various fields must be employed in this type of study to achieve this. However, for researchers in fields other than catalytic chemistry, ceramic (semiconductor) materials chemistry, and electrochemistry to participate in this field, new reviews that summarize previous reports on water-splitting photocatalysis seem to be needed. Therefore, in this review, we summarize recent studies on the development and functionalization of Vis-light-driven water-splitting photocatalysts. Through this summary, we aim to share current technology and future challenges with readers in the various fields and help expedite the practical application of Vis-light-driven water-splitting photocatalysts.

For the realization of a next‐generation energy society, further improvement in the activity of water‐splitting photocatalysts is essential. Platinum (Pt) is predicted to be the most effective cocatalyst for hydrogen evolution from water. However, when the number of active sites is increased by decreasing the particle size, the Pt cocatalyst is easily oxidized and thereby loses its activity. In this study, a method to load ultrafine, monodisperse, metallic Pt nanoclusters (NCs) on graphitic carbon nitride is developed, which is a promising visible‐light‐driven photocatalyst. In this photocatalyst, a part of the surface of the Pt NCs is protected by sulfur atoms, preventing oxidation. Consequently, the hydrogen‐evolution activity per loading weight of Pt cocatalyst is significantly improved, 53 times, compared with that of a Pt‐cocatalyst loaded photocatalyst by the conventional method. The developed method is also effective to enhance the overall water‐splitting activity of other advanced photocatalysts such as SrTiO3 and BaLa4Ti4O15.