Environmentally-friendly carbon nanomaterials for photocatalytic hydrogen production

Abstract

Currently, the energy crisis is the crucial problem faced by the world, and photocatalytic hydrogen (H2) production is recognized with a chance to be a standout amongst those guaranteeing results to this issue. For a long time, photocatalytic H2 production has mainly relied on the noble metal catalysts. However, the limitations of noble metals themselves, such as scarcity and high cost, have severely restricted their large-scale application. Therefore, it is urgent to seek a cheaper, more efficient, and stable catalyst for photocatalytic H2 production. Fortunately, the emergence of carbon nanostructured materials (CNMs) has brought dawn. Its excellent structure and semiconductor performance can effectively participate in photocatalytic H2 production. CNMs have developed rapidly since they appeared in the field of photocatalytic water splitting. Therefore, it is necessary to summarize the latest progress of CNMs promptly for further development. This review introduced the CNMs, including carbon dots, fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, graphene, and graphdiyne, which is a powerful assistant in photocatalytic H2 production. CNMs can provide abundant adsorption and active sites, charge separation and transport channels, photocatalysts, co-catalysts and photosensitizers. Then, this review has introduced the strategy for enhancing CNMs in photocatalytic H2 production based on recent research. Finally, the challenge faced by CNMs in photocatalytic H2 production has prospected.