Recent development in band engineering of binary semiconductor materials for solar driven photocatalytic hydrogen production

Tahir, Muhammad Nawaz; Tasleem, Sehar; Tahir, Beenish

doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2020.04.071

Cited by 221 publications

(84 citation statements)

References 382 publications

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“…Of course, metals are also frequently utilized in multi-component catalysts (and not only with a main UV- absorber photocatalyst) in order to efficiently harvest the full solar light spectrum. The most utilized (plasmonic or not) metals as photo-catalytic co-catalysts are Au, Ag, Pt, Pd, or Cu as well as their binary combinations [ 1 , 5 , 123 , 124 ].…”

Section: Composite Photocatalystsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sunlight-Operated TiO2-Based Photocatalysts

et al. 2020

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Photo-catalysis is a research field with broad applications in terms of potential technological applications related to energy production and managing, environmental protection, and chemical synthesis fields. A global goal, common to all of these fields, is to generate photo-catalytic materials able to use a renewable energy source such as the sun. As most active photocatalysts such as titanium oxides are essentially UV absorbers, they need to be upgraded in order to achieve the fruitful use of the whole solar spectrum, from UV to infrared wavelengths. A lot of different strategies have been pursued to reach this goal. Here, we selected representative examples of the most successful ones. We mainly highlighted doping and composite systems as those with higher potential in this quest. For each of these two approaches, we highlight the different possibilities explored in the literature. For doping of the main photocatalysts, we consider the use of metal and non-metals oriented to modify the band gap energy as well as to create specific localized electronic states. We also described selected cases of using up-conversion doping cations. For composite systems, we described the use of binary and ternary systems. In addition to a main photo-catalyst, these systems contain low band gap, up-conversion or plasmonic semiconductors, plasmonic and non-plasmonic metals and polymers.

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Section: Composite Photocatalystsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sunlight-Operated TiO2-Based Photocatalysts

et al. 2020

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“…Surprisingly, photocatalytic disinfection takes second place in the composites' reported applications, with 7%. The hydrogen evolution reaction in the presence of sacrificial agents (i.e., methanol, ethanol, among others) occupies the third place of application [4,143] (ca. 4%), followed by the photocatalytic reduction of inorganic ions, such as Cr 6+ [76,[144][145][146][147], or organic compounds, such as several nitroarenes [148,149] (ca.…”

Section: Photocatalytic Performance and Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synthesis, Characterization, and Photocatalytic Performance of ZnO–Graphene Nanocomposites: A Review

et al. 2020

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ZnO is an exciting material for photocatalysis applications due to its high activity, easy accessibility of raw materials, low production costs, and nontoxic. Several ZnO nano and microstructures can be obtained, such as nanoparticles, nanorods, micro flowers, microspheres, among others, depending on the preparation method and conditions. ZnO is a wide bandgap semiconductor presenting massive recombination of the generated charge carriers, limiting its photocatalytic efficiency and stability. It is common to mix it with metal, metal oxide, sulfides, polymers, and nanocarbon-based materials to improve its photocatalytic behavior. Therefore, ZnO–nanocarbon composites formation has been a viable alternative that leads to new, more active, and stable photocatalytic systems. Mainly, graphene is a well-known two-dimensional material, which could be an excellent candidate to hybridize with ZnO due to its excellent physical and chemical properties (e.g., high specific surface area, optical transmittance, and thermal conductivity, among others). This review analyses ZnO–graphene nanocomposites’ recent advances, addressing the synthesis methods and the resulting structural, morphological, optical, and electronic properties. Moreover, we examine the ZnO–graphene composites’ role in the photocatalytic degradation of organic/inorganic pollutants.

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“…For example, the work of Idrees et al explored the influence of two sacrificial agents, TEOA and methanol, over the photocatalytic performance of g-C 3 N 4 /Nb 2 O 5, and even though the hydrogen production rate was highly influenced, it was not attributed to a different mechanism [59]. Tahir et al also reported similar conclusions [34].…”

Section: Direct Z-schemementioning

confidence: 94%

“…QD-based photocatalysts show noteworthy activity in hydrogen production because band energies can be controlled by the size change of quantum dots, providing new possibilities to control the response and light absorption properties, among others. Some of the disclosed articles like that by Tahir et al [34] point to new charge transfer mechanisms such as the S-type heterojunction, which has a resemblance to the direct Z-scheme but an internal electric field is formed. Therefore, the already detailed characterization techniques need to be further exploited to determine the existence of this mechanism in addition to discriminating whether semiconductors are n-type or not.…”

Section: Conclusion and Further Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This topic has been addressed in several review works such as Wang et al [28], Moniz et al [29], Yang et al [30], and Fajrina et al [31], who reported the synthesis and properties of different semiconductor-semiconductor heterojunctions. Moreover, Kandi et al [32] and Rao et al [33] gathered several references about the exceptional properties of using quantum dots to boost photocatalytic activity where the authors highlighted the quantum confinement effect of emitting multiple electrons, size-adjustable properties such as light absorption, and the benefits of quantum dot-semiconductor heterojunctions, especially in hydrogen production [34].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Unravelling the Mechanisms that Drive the Performance of Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production

2020

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The increasing interest and applications of photocatalysis, namely hydrogen production, artificial photosynthesis, and water remediation and disinfection, still face several drawbacks that prevent this technology from being fully implemented at the industrial level. The need to improve the performance of photocatalytic processes and extend their potential working under visible light has boosted the synthesis of new and more efficient semiconductor materials. Thus far, semiconductor–semiconductor heterojunction is the most remarkable alternative. Not only are the characteristics of the new materials relevant to the process performance, but also a deep understanding of the charge transfer mechanisms and the relationship with the process variables and nature of the semiconductors. However, there are several different charge transfer mechanisms responsible for the activity of the composites regardless the synthesis materials. In fact, different mechanisms can be carried out for the same junction. Focusing primarily on the photocatalytic generation of hydrogen, the objective of this review is to unravel the charge transfer mechanisms after the in-depth analyses of already reported literature and establish the guidelines for future research.

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Recent development in band engineering of binary semiconductor materials for solar driven photocatalytic hydrogen production

Cited by 221 publications

References 382 publications

Sunlight-Operated TiO2-Based Photocatalysts

Sunlight-Operated TiO2-Based Photocatalysts

Synthesis, Characterization, and Photocatalytic Performance of ZnO–Graphene Nanocomposites: A Review

Unravelling the Mechanisms that Drive the Performance of Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production

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