Issue 48, 2022

Rational catalyst design for spatial separation of charge carriers in a multi-component photocatalyst for effective hydrogen evolution

Abstract

Since direct solar energy conversion is considered to be crucial for the development of a sustainable society, photocatalytic hydrogen evolution has been extensively studied during the past few years. Despite the recent progress in solar-driven hydrogen evolution, photoactivity is still limited due to fast recombination of charge carriers and scaled production is hard to proceed with. The rational design of photocatalysts with spatially separated charge carriers has been shown to be one of the promising strategies for better photocatalyst charge separation efficiency. The spatial separation of photoinduced electrons and holes, as well as the rapid migration of electrons from the bulk to the reaction surface, results in suppressed charge recombination, prolongs the lifetime of photogenerated charges and blocks the backward reaction. In this review, the basic concepts of photocatalytic hydrogen production with heterojunction systems are introduced. Then, the rational designs of heterojunction photocatalyst systems to enable spatially separated reaction sites are summarized and categorized based on their dimensions and architectures. Finally, the outlook and research directions are discussed towards the set target of solar to hydrogen conversion efficiency and industrial production.

Graphical abstract: Rational catalyst design for spatial separation of charge carriers in a multi-component photocatalyst for effective hydrogen evolution

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
21 Aug 2022
Accepted
25 Oct 2022
First published
26 Oct 2022

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2022,10, 25380-25405

Rational catalyst design for spatial separation of charge carriers in a multi-component photocatalyst for effective hydrogen evolution

M. Xia, X. Zhao, Y. Zhang, W. Pan and D. Y. C. Leung, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2022, 10, 25380 DOI: 10.1039/D2TA06609B

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements