Photocatalysis in Generation of Hydrogen from Water

Solar energy can be converted by utilizing the thermal or photoelectric effects of photons. Concentrated solar power systems utilize thermal energy from the sun by either making steam and then generating power or shifting the chemical equilibrium of a reaction (e.g., water splitting or CO2 reduction) that occurs at extremely high temperatures. The photocatalytic system contains powder photocatalysts. Each photocatalyst particle should collect sufficient photons from the solar flux to cause the required multielectron reactions to occur. The band gap and band edge positions of semiconductors are the most critical parameters for assessing the suitability of photocatalysts for overall water splitting. The most important requirement when selecting photocatalyst materials is the band positions relative to hydrogen and oxygen evolution potentials. For most photocatalysts, surface modification by cocatalysts was found to be essential to achieve overall water splitting.