Abstract
The ongoing research and development of sunlight-driven water splitting in the “Japan Technological Research Association of Artificial Photosynthetic Chemical Process (ARPChem)” is overviewed. Water splitting photocatalysts, photoelectrochemical devices, large-scale reactor panels, product gas transportation, H2/O2 gas separation devices and safety measures against explosion are included as the research objectives. ARPChem was formed as a research union of Japan’s leading chemical firms, in which related elementary technologies have been cultivated. This article introduces our general scope for artificial photosynthesis and describes present research activities, mainly on solar driven water splitting photocatalysts/photoelectrodes and briefly on the processes and plans for plant construction for future industrial extension.
Highlights
The research and technological development of solar energy recovery is currently underway due to serious and urgent worldwide requests
It is supposed that life was born 109 years ago on the earth, and that the photosynthesizing plants started converting the atmospheric CO2 into O2 4 × 108 years ago
The modern civilization based upon mass consumption of fossil energy began approximately 200 years ago, and will last until the recoverable fossil energy resources are all consumed
Summary
The research and technological development of solar energy recovery is currently underway due to serious and urgent worldwide requests. (2) We survey nitrides, chalcogenides and oxide variations of those, as visible-light absorbers that can be assembled to the solar energy harvesting devices as powders or polycrystalline thin films This is to open up a new category of semiconductive materials for sunlight absorption that can be produced in low-cost fabrication processes. ARPChem’s last few years’ surveys on visible-light absorbing semiconductors have been conducted as fabrication of photoelectrodes and basic tests in photoelectrochemical characteristics, such as photocurrent density, electrochemical onset potentials for H2/O2 evolution, and durability tests, under simulated sunlight irradiation. These tests are designed to bring out the maximum photocurrent after careful choice of the cocatalyst. We pay attention to the sputtering condition of the precursor TaOδ film and post-nitridation in NH3 gas flow, so as to gain good reproducibility of the film morphology and the photoelectrochemical performance
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
