Recent advances in earth-abundant photocatalyst materials for solar H2 production

Abstract

Harvesting solar energy attracts great attention due to its abundant, clean, and permanent characteristics. Thus, photocatalysts have emerged as promising candidates for converting the solar energy to practically useful hydrogen molecules. Tremendous efforts have been devoted in developments of efficient photocatalysts for water splitting, but most of photocatalysts utilize noble metals to improve photocatalytic performance. Progress in photocatalyst materials for the hydrogen production coupled with a better understanding of the basic catalytic mechanisms has enabled better selection of catalytic nanomaterials with improved performance. In this review, we analyze the current state of the art in photocatalyst materials for photochemical hydrogen production through water splitting using earth-abundant materials. We also explore two main factors involved in both material morphology and sacrificial agent to further improve the activity, efficiency and stability of photocatalysts.