Organic materials as photocatalysts for water splitting

Boosting the Efficiency of Suspended Photocatalysts for Overall Water Splitting.

Water Splitting I is a significant task to cover the residential energy demand of a society (approximately 20% of the total) with solar energy, but it is a much greater challenge to cover all of it, including the demands of industry, commerce, and transportation. The 20% goal may be achievable through photovoltaic-powered households and appliances, but the 100% goal will require extensive facil...

Water Splitting: One‐dimensional TiO2 Nanotube Photocatalysts for Solar Water Splitting (Adv. Sci. 1/2017)

Improved niobate nanoscroll photocatalysts for partial water splitting.

Layered K(4)Nb(6)O(17) is a known UV-light-driven photocatalyst for overall water splitting, with a band gap of 3.5 eV. Following ion exchange and exfoliation with tetrabutylammonium hydroxide, the layered material separates into nanosheets that coil into 1.0±0.5 μm long and 10±5 nm wide nanoscrolls to reduce their surface energy. Pt and IrO(x) (x=1.5-2) nanoparticles were photochemically depos...

Nanoscale strontium titanate photocatalysts for overall water splitting.

SrTiO(3) (STO) is a large band gap (3.2 eV) semiconductor that catalyzes the overall water splitting reaction under UV light irradiation in the presence of a NiO cocatalyst. As we show here, the reactivity persists in nanoscale particles of the material, although the process is less effective at the nanoscale. To reach these conclusions, Bulk STO, 30 ± 5 nm STO, and 6.5 ± 1 nm STO were synthesi...

One‐dimensional TiO2 Nanotube Photocatalysts for Solar Water Splitting

Hydrogen production from water splitting by photo/photoelectron-catalytic process is a promising route to solve both fossil fuel depletion and environmental pollution at the same time. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanotubes have attracted much interest due to their large specific surface area and highly ordered structure, which has led to promising potential applications in photocatalytic degradatio...