Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production: A Rift into the Future Energy Supply

TLDR

Photocatalytic hydrogen production converts solar energy into chemical energy using photocatalysts, and recent advances in nanotechnology and molecular design have enabled visible‑light activity, improved stability, and a focus on cost‑effective catalysts for real‑world applications. This review surveys the elementary steps of heterogeneous photocatalytic H₂ production, detailing the physico‑chemical reactions occurring on semiconductor surfaces and cocatalysts. It outlines the use of renewable oxygenates as sustainable sacrificial agents, positioning them as a pathway toward transitioning from fossil fuels to pure water splitting. Recent progress in organic and hybrid organic/inorganic photocatalysts is highlighted, illustrating the current state of development in the field.

Abstract

Abstract Photocatalytic hydrogen (H 2 ) production is a process that converts solar energy into chemical energy by means of a suitable photocatalyst. After the huge amount of systems that have been tested in the last forty years, the advent of nanotechnology and a careful design at molecular level, allow to obtain attractive activity, even using pure visible light. At the same time we are approaching reasonable photocatalyst stability in laboratory test, and the attention is paid to identify cost‐effective photocatalysts that might find real applications. This Review provides a broad overview of the elementary steps of the heterogeneous photocatalytic H 2 production, including an outline of the physico‐chemical reactions occurring on semiconductors and cocatalysts. The use of different renewable oxygenates as sustainable sacrificial agent for the H 2 production is outlined, in view of a transition from fossil fuels to pure water splitting. Finally, the recent advances in the development of photocatalyst are discussed focusing on the current progress in organic and hybrid organic/inorganic photocatalysts.