SYNTHESIS OF Ti02- BASED PHOTOCATALYSTS FOR PHOTOCATALYTIC H2 GENERATION

Abstract

Since the discovery of splitting water into H2 and O2 with a photoelectrochemical set-up by Honda and Fujishima, photocatalytic H2 generation using TiO2 has been extensively studied due to its relatively high efficiency and photostability compares with other semiconductors. The photocatalytic activity of pristine TiO2 can be substantially enhanced by structural engineering through obtaining appropriate particle size, porosity, surface area, crystal structure, crystallinity and reactive facets. However, due to the large bandgap of TiO2, its photoactivity to solar light is limited. This initiates the works to design TiO2-based nanocomposites which further extend the light absorption beyond the UV region. This work has modified TiO2 materials for further improve their photocatalytic hydrogen generation performances through rational designs of efficient and stable TiO2-based nanocomposite structures with well-engineered composition, morphology, crystallography and incorporation, in order to overcome the barriers of rapid charge recombination and limited light absorption range.