Photoelectrochemical water splitting to generate H2 and O2 using only photon energy (with no added electrical energy) has been demonstrated with dual n-type-semiconductor (or Z-scheme) systems. Here we investigated two different Z-scheme systems; one is comprised of two cells with the same metal-oxide semiconductor (W- and Mo-doped bismuth vanadate), that is, Pt-W/Mo-BiVO4, and the other is com...

Development of a non-noble-metal hydrogen-producing catalyst is essential to the development of solar water-splitting devices. Improving both the activity and the stability of the catalyst remains a key challenge. In this Communication, we describe a two-step reaction for preparing three-dimensional electrodes composed of CoSe2 nanoparticles grown on carbon fiber paper. The electrode exhibits e...

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting offers a clean pathway to renewable and sustainable energy in the near future. The key to improving the efficiency of PEC devices is the ability to find materials with suitable optoelectronic properties, and identifying, then overcoming their limitations. In this paper, we explore the photoelectrochemical performance of CuWO4 photoanodes for solar wate...

Hydrogen production from water splitting by photo/photoelectron-catalytic process is a promising route to solve both fossil fuel depletion and environmental pollution at the same time. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanotubes have attracted much interest due to their large specific surface area and highly ordered structure, which has led to promising potential applications in photocatalytic degradatio...

Both multiple exciton generation (MEG) in semiconductor nanocrystals and singlet fission (SF) in molecular chromophores have the potential to greatly increase the power conversion efficiency of solar cells for the production of solar electricity (photovoltaics) and solar fuels (artificial photosynthesis) when used in solar photoconverters. MEG creates two or more excitons per absorbed photon, a...

Semiconductors designated for solar water-splitting need to be simultaneously stable and efficient in the charge transfer over the interface to the aqueous electrolyte. Although InP(100) has been employed as photocathode for several decades, no experimental data on its initial interaction with water is available. We study reaction mechanisms of well-defined surfaces with water and oxygen employ...

Photocatalytic water splitting is an ideal pathway to produce hydrogen for the future energy supply due to the sustainability of solar energy and the mild reaction conditions. In the past four decades, many inorganic semiconductor photocatalysts have been studied for this purpose. In recent years, conjugated polymers, in particular covalent carbon nitride frameworks, have rapidly emerged as a n...

Thermochemical water and carbon dioxide splitting with concentrated solar energy is a technology for converting renewable solar energy into liquid hydrocarbon fuels as an alternative to fossil fuels, which are dominating in today's energy mix. For the conversion reaction to be efficient, special redox materials are necessary to perform the necessary chemical reactions in a thermochemical cycle....

Bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) has been widely regarded as a promising photoanode material for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting because of its low cost, its high stability against photocorrosion, and its relatively narrow band gap of 2.4 eV. However, the achieved performance of the BiVO4 photoanode remains unsatisfactory to date because its short carrier diffusion length restricts the total...