Issue 11, 2019

An Al-doped SrTiO3 photocatalyst maintaining sunlight-driven overall water splitting activity for over 1000 h of constant illumination

Abstract

Photocatalytic water splitting is a viable approach to the large-scale production of renewable solar hydrogen. The apparent quantum yield for this reaction has been improved, but the lifespan of photocatalysts functioning under sunlight at ambient pressure have rarely been examined, despite the critical importance of this factor in practical applications. Herein, we show that Al-doped SrTiO3 (SrTiO3:Al) loaded with a RhCrOx (rhodium chromium oxide) cocatalyst splits water with an apparent quantum yield greater than 50% at 365 nm. Moreover, following the photodeposition of CoOOH and TiO2, this material maintains 80% of its initial activity and a solar-to-hydrogen energy conversion efficiency greater than or equal to 0.3% over a span of 1300 h under constant illumination by simulated sunlight at ambient pressure. This result is attributed to reduced dissolution of Cr in the cocatalyst following the oxidative photodeposition of CoOOH. The photodeposition of TiO2 further improves the durability of this photocatalyst. This work demonstrates a concept that could allow the design of long-term, large-scale photocatalyst systems for practical sunlight-driven water splitting.

Graphical abstract: An Al-doped SrTiO3 photocatalyst maintaining sunlight-driven overall water splitting activity for over 1000 h of constant illumination

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
24 Dec 2018
Accepted
24 Jan 2019
First published
24 Jan 2019
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2019,10, 3196-3201

An Al-doped SrTiO3 photocatalyst maintaining sunlight-driven overall water splitting activity for over 1000 h of constant illumination

H. Lyu, T. Hisatomi, Y. Goto, M. Yoshida, T. Higashi, M. Katayama, T. Takata, T. Minegishi, H. Nishiyama, T. Yamada, Y. Sakata, K. Asakura and K. Domen, Chem. Sci., 2019, 10, 3196 DOI: 10.1039/C8SC05757E

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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