There is a growing interest in the conversion of water and solar energy into clean and renewable H2 fuels using earth-abundant materials due to the depletion of fossil fuel and its serious environmental impact. This critical review highlights some key factors influencing the efficiency of heterogeneous semiconductors for solar water splitting (i.e. improved charge separation and transfer, promoted optical absorption, optimized band gap position, lowered cost and toxicity, and enhanced stability and water splitting kinetics). Moreover, different engineering strategies, such as band structure engineering, micro/nano engineering, bionic engineering, co-catalyst engineering, surface/interface engineering of heterogeneous semiconductors are summarized and discussed thoroughly. The synergistic effects of the different engineering strategies, especially for the combination of co-catalyst loading and other strategies seem to be more promising for the development of highly efficient photocatalysts. A thorough understanding of electron and hole transfer thermodynamics and kinetics at the fundamental level is also important for elucidating the key efficiency-limiting step and designing highly efficient solar-to-fuel conversion systems. In this review, we provide not only a summary of the recent progress in the different engineering strategies of heterogeneous semiconductors for solar water splitting, but also some potential opportunities for designing and optimizing solar cells, photocatalysts for the reduction of CO2 and pollutant degradation, and electrocatalysts for water splitting.

Engineering heterogeneous semiconductors for solar water splitting

https://iris.unipa.it/bitstream/10447/74239/1/Di%20Paola-J%20hzardous%20mater%202012-survey.pdf

A survey of photocatalytic materials for environmental remediation.

Due to the increasingly polluted environment and the gradual depletion of fossil fuel reserves, the development of renewable technologies for environmental remediation and energy production is highly desirable. Over the past decades, oxide-based semiconductor photocatalysis has attracted much attention. On various frontiers for efficient photocatalysis, surface-tuning strategies for synthesis and modification of oxides on the nanometer scale have progressed at a fast pace. Hence, it is of significance to review recent advances in the development of surface tuning for oxide-based nanomaterials as activity-enhanced photocatalysts. In this review, special emphases, especially for recent advances in our group, are given to surface tuning of novel nanocrystallites for high thermal stability, hierarchical structure assembly, heterojunctional nanocomposites and high-energy-facet exposure, along with effective testing tools for photogenerated charge properties at the surfaces and/or interfaces. This is of great significance for fields related to energy and environment from scientific and engineering viewpoints.

Surface Tuning for Oxide-Based Nanomaterials as Efficient Photocatalysts

Cost-effective large-scale synthesis of ZnO photocatalyst with excellent performance for dye photodegradation

Binary metal oxides with three-dimensional (3D) superstructure have been regarded as desirable electrode materials for the supercapacitor due to the combination of the improved electrical conductivity and effective porous structure. 3D hierarchical flower-shaped nickel cobaltite (NiCo2O4) microspheres have been fabricated by a rapid and template-free microwave-assisted heating (MAH) reflux approach followed by pyrolysis of the as-prepared precursors. The flower-shaped NiCo2O4 microspheres, composed of ultrathin nanopetals with thickness of about 15 nm, are endowed with large specific surface area (148.5 m(2) g(-1)) and a narrow pore size distribution (5-10 nm). The as-fabricated porous flower-shaped NiCo2O4 microspheres as electrode materials for supercapacitor exhibited high specific capacitance of 1006 F g(-1) at 1 A g(-1), enhanced rate capability, and excellent electrochemical stability with 93.2% retention after 1000 continuous charge-discharge (CD) cycles even at a high current density of 8 A g(-1). The desirable integrated performance enables it to be a promising electrode material for the electrochemical supercapacitor (EC).

Rapid microwave-assisted green synthesis of 3D hierarchical flower-shaped NiCo₂O₄ microsphere for high-performance supercapacitor.

ZnO hierarchical microstructures with uniform flower-like morphology were prepared on a large scale through a template- and surfactant-free low-temperature (80 °C) aqueous solution route. The product was characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and Brunauer−Emmett−Teller N2 adsorption−desorption analyses. The flower-like ZnO microstructures are assembled by many interleaving nanosheets which have the uniform thickness of about 10 nm and a well-crystalline structure with dominant surfaces as {2110} planes. Control experiments revealed that the formation of the flower-like ZnO was based on the fast nucleation−growth kinetics. The flower-like ZnO sample shows an enhanced photocatalytic performance compared with the other nanostructured ZnO powders of nanoparticles, nanosheets, and nanorods, which can be attributed to the special structural feature with an open and porous nanostructured surface layer that significantly facilitates the diffusion and ...

Facile Synthesis and Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance of Flower-like ZnO Hierarchical Microstructures

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Facile Synthesis and Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance of Flower-like ZnO Hierarchical Microstructures