Putwa Sarrah, Curtis Isabel S, Dasog Mita
Department of Chemistry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
iScience. 2023 Mar 2;26(4):106317. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106317. eCollection 2023 Apr 21.
Solar-driven production of fuels such as hydrogen, hydrocarbons, and ammonia using semiconducting photocatalysts has the potential to be a sustainable alternative to current chemical processes. In recent years, silicon (Si) nanostructures have been recognized as a promising photocatalyst for hydrogen generation and organic oxidation reactions owing to its abundance, biocompatibility, and cost. While bulk Si has been studied extensively, on the nanoscale, plenty of opportunities exist to understand and engineer optimally performing Si photocatalysts. This perspective will highlight key results on the use of Si nanostructures for photocatalytic H production, CO reduction via light and heat-driven chemical looping, and current challenges in utilizing it for fuel-forming reactions. A brief guide on how these challenges can be addressed in the future and other unexplored questions that remain in the field are also discussed.
利用半导体光催化剂通过太阳能驱动生产氢气、碳氢化合物和氨等燃料，有可能成为当前化学工艺的可持续替代方案。近年来，硅（Si）纳米结构因其丰富性、生物相容性和成本低，已被公认为是用于制氢和有机氧化反应的有前景的光催化剂。虽然块状硅已得到广泛研究，但在纳米尺度上，仍有许多机会来理解和设计性能最佳的硅光催化剂。本文将重点介绍利用硅纳米结构进行光催化产氢、通过光热驱动化学链进行CO还原的关键成果，以及将其用于燃料形成反应时当前面临的挑战。还讨论了未来如何应对这些挑战的简要指南以及该领域中仍未探索的其他问题。
