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Reaction systems for solar hydrogen production via water splitting with particulate semiconductor photocatalysts

Nature Catalysis volume 2, pages 387–399 (2019)Cite this article

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Abstract

Photocatalytic water splitting using particulate semiconductor materials has been studied as a simple means of hydrogen production. However, there are still many obstacles to the development of complete, practical and renewable solar hydrogen production processes. This review discusses particulate photocatalyst systems intended for large-scale solar hydrogen production via water splitting, focusing on their current status and potential impact. The cost and efficiency targets for solar-to-fuel conversion on a practical scale are also reviewed, based on the maximum allowable cost of solar hydrogen production systems, which has been estimated to be US$102 m–2, at most. Particulate photocatalyst material design principles are discussed, using efficient oxide photocatalysts as examples. Approaches to constructing photocatalytic reactors extensible to large areas are also introduced. Finally, challenges related to the development of efficient and inexpensive photocatalyst systems and potentially useful analytical methods are outlined.

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Fig. 1: Schematics of four reactor types.
Fig. 2: A proposed scheme for large-scale hydrogen production via solar water splitting.
Fig. 3: Energy diagrams for photocatalytic water splitting.
Fig. 4: Mechanism of highly efficient photocatalytic water splitting over NiO/NaTaO3:La photocatalysts.
Fig. 5: A largescale photoreactor for photocatalytic reactions with an immobilized photocatalyst.
Fig. 6: 1 × 1 m Water-splitting panels containing SrTiO3:Al sheets.
Fig. 7: Schematic diagrams of water splitting on narrow-band-gap semiconductor photocatalysts.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the Artificial Photosynthesis Project of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) (no. 16H02417), a Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (A) (no. 15H05494), and a Grand-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (no. 18H05156) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).

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  1. Center for Energy & Environmental Science, Interdisciplinary Cluster for Cutting Edge Research, Shinshu University, Nagano, Japan

    Takashi Hisatomi & Kazunari Domen

  2. Department of Chemical System Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan

    Kazunari Domen

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  1. Takashi Hisatomi
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  2. Kazunari Domen
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Correspondence to Kazunari Domen.

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Hisatomi, T., Domen, K. Reaction systems for solar hydrogen production via water splitting with particulate semiconductor photocatalysts. Nat Catal 2, 387–399 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-019-0242-6

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