Pech-Rodríguez W J, Şahin Nihat Ege, Suarez-Velázquez G G, Meléndez-González P C
Department of Mechatronics, Polytechnic University of Victoria, Ciudad Victoria 87138, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
Battery and Materials, Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Aarhus University, 8200 Aarhus, Denmark.
Materials (Basel). 2025 Apr 25;18(9):1952. doi: 10.3390/ma18091952.
Hydrogen and oxygen serve as energy carriers that can ease the transition of energy due to their high energy densities. Nonetheless, their production processes entail the development of efficient and low-cost storage and conversion technologies. In this regard, photoelectrocatalysts are materials based on the photoelectronic effect where electrons and holes interact with HO, producing H and O and in some cases, this is achieved with acceptable efficiency. Although there are several reviews on this topic, most of them focus on traditional semiconductors, such as TiO and ZnO, neglecting others, such as those based on non-noble metals and organic ones. Herein, semiconductors like CdSe, NiWO, FeO, and others have been investigated and compared in terms of photocurrent density, band gap, and charge transfer resistance. In addition, this brief review aims to discuss the mechanisms of overall water-splitting reactions from a photonic point of view and subsequently discusses the engineering of material synthesis. Advanced composites are also addressed, such as WO/BiVO/CuO and CN-FeNiOOH-CoOOH, which demonstrate high efficiency by delivering photocurrent densities of 5 mAcm and 3.5 mA cm at 1.23 vs. RHE, respectively. Finally, the authors offer their perspectives and list the main challenges based on their experience in developing semiconductor-based materials applied in several fields. In this manner, this brief review provides the main advances in these topics, used as references for new directions in designing active materials for photoelectrocatalytic water splitting.
氢和氧作为能量载体，由于其高能量密度，能够缓解能量转换过程。然而，它们的生产过程需要开发高效且低成本的存储和转换技术。在这方面，光电催化剂是基于光电效应的材料，其中电子和空穴与水相互作用，产生氢气和氧气，在某些情况下，这一过程能达到可接受的效率。尽管关于这个主题有几篇综述，但大多数都集中在传统半导体上，如二氧化钛和氧化锌，而忽略了其他材料，如基于非贵金属和有机材料的半导体。在此，对硒化镉、钨酸镍、氧化铁等半导体进行了研究，并在光电流密度、带隙和电荷转移电阻方面进行了比较。此外，这篇简短的综述旨在从光子学角度讨论整体水分解反应的机制，并随后讨论材料合成工程。还提到了先进的复合材料，如钨酸铋/钒酸铋/氧化铜和石墨相氮化碳 - 铁镍氢氧化物 - 氢氧化钴，它们在相对于可逆氢电极1.23伏时分别提供5毫安每平方厘米和3.5毫安每平方厘米的光电流密度，从而展示出高效率。最后，作者根据他们在开发应用于多个领域的半导体基材料方面的经验，给出了他们的观点并列出了主要挑战。通过这种方式，这篇简短的综述提供了这些主题的主要进展，作为设计用于光电催化水分解的活性材料新方向的参考。
