Solar-Driven Photocatalysts for Hydrogen Conversion

Solar-Driven Photocatalysts for Hydrogen Conversion

Hydrogen energy has promising prospects and scientists are thinking of new ways for its conversion, At present, hydrogen is produced from fossil fuel methane. However, the process takes up large amounts of fossil fuel energy.

A team of researchers from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has come up with perovskite photocatalyst promising the conversion of solar energy to hydrogen at high efficiency rates. The perovskite photocatalyst is lead-free.

The result was achieved when the interfacial dynamics of solid-solid between halide perovskite molecules and solid-liquid between a halide perovskite and an electrolyte and solid-liquid in the process of photoelectrochemical hydrogen production.

Presently, there is high demand for Hydrogen worldwide as it is both a better as well as a more promising source of renewable energy. It further helps that Hydrogen is found abundantly and boasts of high energy density, while being environmental friendly at the same time.

“Lead-based hybrid perovskites are used to overcome this stability issue, but the high solubility in water and toxicity of lead limits their potential for widespread applications,” shared Dr Sam Hsu Hsien-Yi, Assistant Professor in the School of Energy and Environment and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at CityU. “Bismuth-based perovskites, in contrast, have been confirmed to provide a non-toxic, chemically stable alternative for solar-fuel applications, but the photocatalytic efficiency needs to be enhanced.”

Other than photoelectrochemical splitting of water, splitting hydrohalic acid by employing photocatalysts that rely on solar energy is another way to produce hydrogen. Even though this discovery sounds interesting, there are challenges to it.  Photocatalysts do not offer stability for a long period of time as most of them are composed of transition metal oxides. The stability is challenged under acidic circumstances as the metal becomes unstable when exposed to it.