Visible Light Photocatalysis: Green Hydrogen Production

Abstract

The next few decades will experience the convergence of diverse materials and scientific disciplines resulting in innovative products and processes for the benefit of mankind. If the proliferation of today’s technologies and the urgent need to address global climate change issues is any indication of the speed and power of changes in economies to be expected, a dramatic shift to sustainable technologies has to occur to provide cost-effective, low carbon footprint solutions. In this talk we will introduce about possible strategies based on fundamentals of physics and materials engineering that can potentially contribute to our efforts to preserve the planet’s environment at an acceptable level. Exploiting solar energy, as visible radiation constitutes a major share (~ 46%) of the solar spectrum, strategies for carbon reduction technologies can be devised. We have been working on the synergistic development of visible light active photocatalysts suitable for activating reactions by engineering nanomaterials and interfaces. Hydrogen production (H2) by Photocatalytic reactions is a promising process for green H2 generation as a fuel or an alternate energy source. Organic compounds like alcohols, polyols, sugars, as well as organic acids and lignocellulosic compounds can serve as sacrificial agents (electron donors) to reduce e−–h+ recombination leading to a more efficient process. Cellulose, the most abundant material on the earth that is a part of some of the waste generated by humans is a natural and carbon-neutral source as a sacrificial agent during photo-induced splitting of water for green H2 production and can be an attractive for building a sustainable system for photocatalytic H2 production. Some of these areas utilising visible light photocatalysis for oxidation of organic pollutant, microbe removal, anti-biofouling coatings and microplastic degradation will be briefly discussed.