Unravelling the Mechanisms that Drive the Performance of Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production
The increasing interest and applications of photocatalysis, namely hydrogen production, artificial photosynthesis, and water remediation and disinfection, still face several drawbacks that prevent this technology from being fully implemented at the industrial level. The need to improve the performan...
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doaj-49ab21c4b62f40839150985f3ca481712020-11-25T02:54:33ZengMDPI AGCatalysts2073-43442020-08-011090190110.3390/catal10080901Unravelling the Mechanisms that Drive the Performance of Photocatalytic Hydrogen ProductionSergio San Martín0Maria J. Rivero1Inmaculada Ortiz2Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, ETSIIT, University of Cantabria, Avda. de los Castros s/n, 39005 Santander, SpainDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, ETSIIT, University of Cantabria, Avda. de los Castros s/n, 39005 Santander, SpainDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, ETSIIT, University of Cantabria, Avda. de los Castros s/n, 39005 Santander, SpainThe increasing interest and applications of photocatalysis, namely hydrogen production, artificial photosynthesis, and water remediation and disinfection, still face several drawbacks that prevent this technology from being fully implemented at the industrial level. The need to improve the performance of photocatalytic processes and extend their potential working under visible light has boosted the synthesis of new and more efficient semiconductor materials. Thus far, semiconductor–semiconductor heterojunction is the most remarkable alternative. Not only are the characteristics of the new materials relevant to the process performance, but also a deep understanding of the charge transfer mechanisms and the relationship with the process variables and nature of the semiconductors. However, there are several different charge transfer mechanisms responsible for the activity of the composites regardless the synthesis materials. In fact, different mechanisms can be carried out for the same junction. Focusing primarily on the photocatalytic generation of hydrogen, the objective of this review is to unravel the charge transfer mechanisms after the in-depth analyses of already reported literature and establish the guidelines for future research.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/10/8/901semiconductor–semiconductor heterojunctionphotocatalytic hydrogen productiondirect Z-schemetype II heterojunctionsensitizationcharge transfer mechanism identification |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Sergio San Martín Maria J. Rivero Inmaculada Ortiz |
spellingShingle |
Sergio San Martín Maria J. Rivero Inmaculada Ortiz Unravelling the Mechanisms that Drive the Performance of Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production Catalysts semiconductor–semiconductor heterojunction photocatalytic hydrogen production direct Z-scheme type II heterojunction sensitization charge transfer mechanism identification |
author_facet |
Sergio San Martín Maria J. Rivero Inmaculada Ortiz |
author_sort |
Sergio San Martín |
title |
Unravelling the Mechanisms that Drive the Performance of Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production |
title_short |
Unravelling the Mechanisms that Drive the Performance of Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production |
title_full |
Unravelling the Mechanisms that Drive the Performance of Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production |
title_fullStr |
Unravelling the Mechanisms that Drive the Performance of Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production |
title_full_unstemmed |
Unravelling the Mechanisms that Drive the Performance of Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production |
title_sort |
unravelling the mechanisms that drive the performance of photocatalytic hydrogen production |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Catalysts |
issn |
2073-4344 |
publishDate |
2020-08-01 |
description |
The increasing interest and applications of photocatalysis, namely hydrogen production, artificial photosynthesis, and water remediation and disinfection, still face several drawbacks that prevent this technology from being fully implemented at the industrial level. The need to improve the performance of photocatalytic processes and extend their potential working under visible light has boosted the synthesis of new and more efficient semiconductor materials. Thus far, semiconductor–semiconductor heterojunction is the most remarkable alternative. Not only are the characteristics of the new materials relevant to the process performance, but also a deep understanding of the charge transfer mechanisms and the relationship with the process variables and nature of the semiconductors. However, there are several different charge transfer mechanisms responsible for the activity of the composites regardless the synthesis materials. In fact, different mechanisms can be carried out for the same junction. Focusing primarily on the photocatalytic generation of hydrogen, the objective of this review is to unravel the charge transfer mechanisms after the in-depth analyses of already reported literature and establish the guidelines for future research. |
topic |
semiconductor–semiconductor heterojunction photocatalytic hydrogen production direct Z-scheme type II heterojunction sensitization charge transfer mechanism identification |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/10/8/901 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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