journal article·2016-06

Scalable water splitting on particulate photocatalyst sheets with a solar-to-hydrogen energy conversion efficiency exceeding 1%

Qian Wang, Takashi Hisatomi, Qingxin Jia, Hiromasa Tokudome, Miao Zhong, Chizhong Wang, Zhenhua Pan, Tsuyoshi Takata, Mamiko Nakabayashi, Naoya Shibata, Yanbo Li, Ian D. Sharp, Akihiko Kudo, Taro Yamada, Kazunari Domen

Nature Materials· Volume 15· Issue 6
Publisher page

Abstract

Photocatalytic water splitting using particulate semiconductors is a potentially scalable and economically feasible technology for converting solar energy into hydrogen. Z-scheme systems based on two-step photoexcitation of a hydrogen evolution photocatalyst (HEP) and an oxygen evolution photocatalyst (OEP) are suited to harvesting of sunlight because semiconductors with either water reduction or oxidation activity can be applied to the water splitting reaction. However, it is challenging to achieve efficient transfer of electrons between HEP and OEP particles. Here, we present photocatalyst sheets based on La- and Rh-codoped SrTiO3 (SrTiO3:La, Rh; ref. ) and Mo-doped BiVO4 (BiVO4:Mo) powders embedded into a gold (Au) layer. Enhancement of the electron relay by annealing and suppression of undesirable reactions through surface modification allow pure water (pH 6.8) splitting with a solar-to-hydrogen energy conversion efficiency of 1.1% and an apparent quantum yield of over 30% at 419 nm. The photocatalyst sheet design enables efficient and scalable water splitting using particulate semiconductors.
Source: europepmc · Quality: candidate unverified · Source record ↗

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques · Copper-based nanomaterials and applications · Gas Sensing Nanomaterials and Sensors

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

References (30)

Show source-provided references
1. Chen, X., Shen, S., Guo, L. & Mao, S. Semiconductor-based photocatalytic hydrogen generation. Chem. Rev. 110, 6503–6570 (2010).10.1021/cr1001645 ↗
2. Walter, M. G. et al. Solar water splitting cells. Chem. Rev. 110, 6446–6473 (2010).10.1021/cr1002326 ↗
3. Pinaud, B. A. et al. Technical and economic feasibility of centralized facilities for solar hydrogen production via photocatalysis and photoelectrochemistry. Energy Environ. Sci. 6, 1983–2002 (2013).10.1039/c3ee40831k ↗
4. Hisatomi, T., Kubota, J. & Domen, K. Recent advances in semiconductors for photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical water splitting. Chem. Soc. Rev. 43, 7520–7535 (2014).10.1039/C3CS60378D ↗
5. Yuan, Y.-P., Ruan, L.-W., Barber, J., Joachim Loo, S. C. & Xue, C. Hetero-nanostructured suspended photocatalysts for solar-to-fuel conversion. Energy Environ. Sci. 7, 3934–3951 (2014).10.1039/C4EE02914C ↗
6. Maeda, K. Z-scheme water splitting using two different semiconductor photocatalysts. ACS Catal. 3, 1486–1503 (2013).10.1021/cs4002089 ↗
7. Sasaki, Y., Nemoto, H., Saito, K. & Kudo, A. Solar water splitting using powdered photocatalysts driven by Z-schematic interparticle electron transfer without an electron mediator. J. Phys. Chem. C 113, 17536–17542 (2009).10.1021/jp907128k ↗
8. Wang, Q., Hisatomi, T., Ma, S. S. K., Li, Y. & Domen, K. Core/shell structured La- and Rh-codoped SrTiO3 as a hydrogen evolution photocatalyst in Z-scheme overall water splitting under visible light irradiation. Chem. Mater. 26, 4144–4150 (2014).10.1021/cm5011983 ↗
9. Wang, Q. et al. Z-scheme water splitting using particulate semiconductors immobilized onto metal layers for efficient electron relay. J. Catalys. 328, 308–315 (2015).10.1016/j.jcat.2014.12.006 ↗
10. Minegishi, T., Nishimura, N., Kubota, J. & Domen, K. Photoelectrochemical properties of LaTiO2N electrodes prepared by particle transfer for sunlight-driven water splitting. Chem. Sci. 4, 1120–1124 (2013).10.1039/c2sc21845c ↗
11. Sasaki, Y., Iwase, A., Kato, H. & Kudo, A. The effect of co-catalyst for Z-scheme photocatalysis systems with an Fe3+/Fe2+ electron mediator on overall water splitting under visible light irradiation. J. Catalys. 259, 133–137 (2008).10.1016/j.jcat.2008.07.017 ↗
12. Piela, P., Eickes, C., Brosha, E., Garzon, F. & Zelenay, P. Ruthenium crossover in direct methanol fuel cell with Pt-Ru black anode. J. Electrochem. Soc. 151, A2053–A2059 (2004).10.1149/1.1814472 ↗
13. Luther, B. et al. Investigation of the mechanism for ohmic contact formation in Al and Ti/Al contacts to n-type GaN. Appl. Phys. Lett. 70, 57–59 (1997).10.1063/1.119305 ↗
14. Hsu, C.-Y., Lan, W.-H. & Wu, Y. S. Effect of thermal annealing of Ni/Au ohmic contact on the leakage current of GaN based light emitting diodes. Appl. Phys. Lett. 83, 2447–2449 (2003).10.1063/1.1601306 ↗
15. Kudo, A., Omori, K. & Kato, H. A novel aqueous process for preparation of crystal form-controlled and highly crystalline BiVO4 powder from layered vanadates at room temperature and its photocatalytic and photophysical properties. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 121, 11459–11467 (1999).10.1021/ja992541y ↗
16. Berglund, S. P., Flaherty, D. W., Hahn, N. T., Bard, A. J. & Mullins, C. B. Photoelectrochemical oxidation of water using nanostructured BiVO4 films. J. Phys. Chem. C 115, 3794–3802 (2011).10.1021/jp1109459 ↗
17. Maeda, K. et al. Noble-metal/Cr2O3 core/shell nanoparticles as a cocatalyst for photocatalytic overall water splitting. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 45, 7806–7809 (2006).10.1002/anie.200602473 ↗
18. Yoshida, M. et al. Role and function of noble-metal/Cr-layer core/shell structure cocatalysts for photocatalytic overall water splitting studied by model electrodes. J. Phys. Chem. C 113, 10151–10157 (2009).10.1021/jp901418u ↗
19. Takata, T., Pan, C., Nakabayashi, M., Shibata, N. & Domen, K. Fabrication of a core-shell-type photocatalyst via photodeposition of group IV and V transition metal oxyhydroxides: an effective surface modification method for overall water splitting. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 137, 9627–9634 (2015).10.1021/jacs.5b04107 ↗
20. Xu, J., Pan, C., Takata, T. & Domen, K. Photocatalytic overall water splitting on the perovskite-type transition metal oxynitride CaTaO2N under visible light irradiation. Chem. Commun. 51, 7191–7194 (2015).10.1039/C5CC01728A ↗
21. Dionigi, F. et al. Gas phase photocatalytic water splitting with Rh2−yCryO3/GaN:ZnO in μ-reactors. Energy Environ. Sci. 4, 2937–2942 (2011).10.1039/c1ee01242h ↗
22. Hisatomi, T., Minegishi, T. & Domen, K. Kinetic assessment and numerical modeling of photocatalytic water splitting toward efficient solar hydrogen production. Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn 85, 647–655 (2012).10.1246/bcsj.20120058 ↗
23. Wohlgemuth, J. H., Cunningham, D. W., Monus, P., Miller, J. & Nguyen, A. Long term reliability of photovoltaic modules. In Conference Record of the 2006 IEEE 4th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion Vol. 2, 2050–2053 (IEEE, 2006).10.1109/WCPEC.2006.279905 ↗
24. Kurtz, S. et al. Evaluation of high-temperature exposure of photovoltaic modules. Prog. Photovolt. Res. Appl. 19, 954–965 (2011).10.1002/pip.1103 ↗
25. Pihosh, Y. et al. Photocatalytic generation of hydrogen by core-shell WO3/BiVO4 nanorods with ultimate water splitting efficiency. Sci. Rep. 5, 11141 (2015).10.1038/srep11141 ↗
26. Kato, H., Sasaki, Y., Shirakura, N. & Kudo, A. Synthesis of highly active rhodium-doped SrTiO3 powders in Z-scheme systems for visible-light-driven photocatalytic overall water splitting. J. Mater. Chem. A 1, 12327–12333 (2013).10.1039/c3ta12803b ↗
27. Liao, L. et al. Efficient solar water-splitting using a nanocrystalline CoO photocatalyst. Nature Nanotech. 9, 69–73 (2014).10.1038/nnano.2013.272 ↗
28. Liu, J. et al. Metal-free efficient photocatalyst for stable visible water splitting via a two-electron pathway. Science 347, 970–974 (2015).10.1126/science.aaa3145 ↗
29. Caro, J. & Noack, M. Zeolite membranes—Recent deveopments and progress. Micropor. Mesopor. Mater. 115, 215–233 (2008).10.1016/j.micromeso.2008.03.008 ↗
30. Li, H., Haas-Santo, K., Schygulla, U. & Dittmeyer, R. Inorganic microporous membranes for H2 and CO2 separation—Review of experimental and modeling progress. Chem. Eng. Sci. 127, 401–417 (2015).10.1016/j.ces.2015.01.022 ↗