7 - Photocatalytic water splitting on metal oxide-based semiconductor photocatalysts

Abstract

Producing hydrogen fuel via photocatalytic water splitting on semiconductor materials has attracted intense interest in the past decades due to its potential to address important energy and environmental problems. As the main sector for implementing photocatalytic reactions, semiconductor materials have been the focus of the research efforts. Among all the semiconductor materials under investigation, metal oxides represent the most important candidates due to their unique physiochemical properties. In this chapter, we will first introduce the general and historical aspects of photocatalytic water splitting followed by the introduction of major metal oxide materials for this application. Then we will detail the main strategies that could improve the photocatalytic performance of metal oxide photocatalysts. Finally, we will give a brief summary with a vision for the future research effort on photocatalytic water splitting.