Hydrogen Production by Water Splitting with Support of Metal and Carbon-Based Photocatalysts

Abstract

Hydrogen energy is environmental-friendly and considered an attractive alternative to fossil fuels. Among the feasible technologies for hydrogen generation, photocatalysis-derived hydrogen from water splitting is considered to be the optimal solution for meeting long-term sustainability and increased energy demands. In this context, various photocatalytic genres are proposed, with metal and carbon-supported photocatalysts demonstrating greater comprehensiveness and potential for addressing solar-driven hydrogen production from water. Several important aspects of the aforementioned photocatalytic genres are reviewed in the present work in an effort to provide pertinent researchers with new horizons for more advanced performance. The review is initiated by introducing the primary principles in photocatalysis, as well as the prerequisites for hydrogen generation from water. The focus then moves to metal-based photocatalysts, where the important features of these materials as photocatalysts are summarized. Related limitations are also discussed, along with the proposed strategies that could potentially mitigate them. Similar systematic summaries are made of knowledge on carbon-based photocatalysts. The review concludes with a discussion of potential future research directions in light of the bottlenecks currently encountered. With the proper research and development, metal-based and carbon-based photocatalysts could produce clean hydrogen from water, thereby fueling global development without causing environmental harm.

High throughput discovery of ternary Cu–Fe–Ru alloy catalysts for photo-driven hydrogen production

“…H 2 can be used in different sectors including heating homes, as a chemical feedstock, and in fuel cell cars. [1][2][3][4] Generating hydrogen from renewable sources like water is a process that can have significantly less carbon dioxide emission associated with it than traditional methods from fossil fuels, however this process requires active and stable catalysts 3,5 and carbonfree renewable energy. Though there has been increased research in finding better hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts, the interest has continued to grow as we look towards a greener future.…”

“…Photocatalysis is the process of harnessing light energy and using a catalytic surface to drive a chemical reaction. 4,[6][7][8] Though electrocatalysis is a more established field, photocatalysis has gained interest since it can potentially use excess solar energy by direct harvesting of photons from incident light to drive a reaction. 5,6 Light driven HER requires a photosensitizer (PS), sacrificial electron donor, a fuel source, water, and a catalyst.…”

“…34,35 Though Cu is immiscible with numerous other transition metals in the bulk phase, 36 some Cu containing bimetallics have been reported to be electrochemically and photocatalytically active for HER. 4,27,35 Additionally, Cu has high electron density, which can help facilitate electron transfer in multimetallic systems. 37 Ru containing multimetallic NPs are known HER catalysts.…”

“…3,20,26,27 Many efforts have been made to reduce the expensive metal loadings in HER catalysts or replace them altogether. 3,4 Combining metals into multimetallic mixtures or alloys allow for the reduction of one of both metals to attain the same catalytic surface area. Multimetallic catalysts are also a pathway to finding other active materials for HER.…”

Construction of a 3D/2D Z-Scheme Heterojunction for Promoting Charge Separation and Augmented Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

“…In the 21st century, the development of a sustainable decarbonized society has accelerated research on renewable energy production through solar energy harvesting. 1,2 Visiblelight-driven photocatalysis using semiconductors as photocatalysts has attracted widespread attention for solar fuel production. 3−5 In recent years, layered bismuth-based materials, including bismuth tungstates, bismuth oxyhalides, bismuth silicates, bismuth tantalites, bismuth ferrites, bismuth titanates, etc.…”