Abstract
Development of alternative energy resources is an urgent requirement to alleviate current energy constraints. As such, hydrogen gas is gaining attention as a future alternative energy source to address existing issues related to limited energy resources and air pollution. In this study, hydrogen generation by a thermochemical water-splitting process using two types of In2O3 thin films was investigated. The two In2O3 thin films prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and sputtering deposition systems contained different numbers of oxygen vacancies, which were directly related to hydrogen generation. The as-grown In2O3 thin film prepared by CVD generated a large amount of hydrogen because of its abundant oxygen vacancies, while that prepared by sputtering had few oxygen vacancies, resulting in low hydrogen generation. Increasing the temperature of the In2O3 thin film in the reaction chamber caused an increase in hydrogen generation. The oxygen-vacancy-rich In2O3 thin film is expected to provide a highly effective production of hydrogen as a sustainable and efficient energy source.
Highlights
Hydrogen is a ubiquitous element found in many substances, including water, fossil fuels, and living organisms
The amount of generated hydrogen gas was measured by increasing the reaction temperatures from 400 ◦C to 800 ◦C with increments of 100 ◦C
The representative thicknesses of the In2O3 thin films deposited by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and sputtering were ∼1.0 and ∼1.2 μm, respectively
Summary
Hydrogen is a ubiquitous element found in many substances, including water, fossil fuels, and living organisms. Representative attempts include electrolysis of water, photocatalytic water splitting, bio-photolysis, and thermochemical water splitting.[1,2,3,4] In particular, the thermochemical water-splitting process can efficiently combat air pollution and energy resource shortage because it uses pure water as the raw material for hydrogen generation. Based on these advantages, several studies have been conducted on hydrogen generation from water through the combination and dissociation of metals and oxygen in metal oxide materials.[5,6] Oxygen is released from metal oxides at high temperatures (1,400–2,000 ◦C) during reduction, with oxygen from water filling the oxygen vacancies produced.
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