Issue 9, 2011

Sustainable hydrogen production by the application of ambient temperature photocatalysis

Abstract

Hydrogen production by water splitting is a holy grail of science, being one route to a non-fossil fuel and a potential source of clean energy. It is essential to use a non-polluting energy source to drive the reaction and one way is to utilise sunlight energy, combined with a way to overcome the kinetic limitations of the reaction. The production of hydrogen by the photocatalytic cleavage of water can overcome these energetic hurdles. This area of science is briefly reviewed here, focussing on two routes, namely i) the use of sacrificial agents such as alcohols to act as oxygen scavengers and liberate hydrogen only and ii) by direct water splitting to produce both hydrogen and oxygen. The factors which are important in determining the characteristics of effective photocatalytic water splitting systems are elucidated.

Graphical abstract: Sustainable hydrogen production by the application of ambient temperature photocatalysis

Article information

Article type
Critical Review
Submitted
06 Jan 2011
Accepted
29 Mar 2011
First published
02 Jun 2011

Green Chem., 2011,13, 2235-2246

Sustainable hydrogen production by the application of ambient temperature photocatalysis

M. Bowker, Green Chem., 2011, 13, 2235 DOI: 10.1039/C1GC00022E

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