Recent Developments in Harnessing the Potential of Photocatalysts for Hydrogen Production

The increasing human energy requirements necessitate the efficient utilization of renewable resources to ensure a sustainable power supply and mitigate the detrimental environmental impacts associated with fossil fuels. This need has motivated research towards water splitting as a way to generate hydrogen fuel since hydrogen is a prospective eco-friendly energy substitute for petroleum-based products. Photocatalytic water splitting with nanostructured metal oxides is one of the assuring means of large-scale, sustainable, and clean fuel production. This chapter focuses on H2 production techniques with a specific and elaborative focus on photocatalytic H2 production with UV and Visible light responsive photocatalysts. The UV light responsive metal oxides include TiO2, Nb2O5, Ta2O5, and Ga2O3 and Visible light responsive metal oxides include WO3, BiVO4, Cu2O, ZnO, etc. High stability, effective charge separation, and surface properties of photocatalysts discussed play a crucial role in photocatalysis. Different factors which influence the water splitting were also discussed in this book chapter. While significant steps have been taken in the advancement of alternative methods for generating hydrogen, further technical advancements and cost reductions are necessary to make them competitive with the prevailing large-scale reforming technology.