Emerging materials for plasmon-assisted photoelectrochemical water splitting

• Published in: Journal of photochemistry and photobiology. C, Photochemistry reviews Vol. 51; p. 100472
• Main Authors: Subramanyam, Palyam, Meena, Bhagatram, Biju, Vasudevanpillai, Misawa, Hiroaki, Challapalli, Subrahmanyam
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.06.2022
• Subjects: Charge separation and transportation; Hetero-nanostructure; Metal plasmon; Photoelectrochemical water splitting; Semiconductors; Surface plasmon resonance; Charge separation and transportation; Surface plasmon resonance; Photoelectrochemical water splitting; Hetero-nanostructure; Semiconductors; Metal plasmon
• ISSN: 1389-5567; 1873-2739
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2021.100472

[Display omitted] •The impact of plasmonic-nanostructures on the performance of photoelectrochemical water splitting is reviewed.•Hetero-Nanostructures increases the charge separation and transportation.•Light harvesting properties of the photoelectrode enhanced by metal plasmons.•Nano-architecture should be designed by balancing photoactivity and electrocatalytic activity of the photoelectrode. Energy production and environmental pollution are the two major problems the world is facing today. The depletion of fossil fuels and the emission of harmful gases into the atmosphere leads to the research on clean and renewable energy sources. In this context, hydrogen is considered an ideal fuel to meet global energy needs. Presently, hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels. However, the most desirable way is from clean and renewable energy sources, like water and sunlight. Sunlight is an abundant energy source for energy harvesting and utilization. Recent studies reveal that photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting has promise for solar to hydrogen (STH) conversion over the widely tested photocatalytic approach since hydrogen and oxygen gases can be quantified easily in PEC. For designing light-absorbing materials, semiconductors are the primary choice that undergoes excitation upon solar light irradiation to produce excitons (electron-hole pairs) to drive the electrolysis. Visible light active semiconductors are attractive to achieve high solar to chemical fuel conversion. However, pure semiconductor materials are far from practical applications because of charge carrier recombination, poor light-harvesting, and electrode degradation. Various heteronanostructures by the integration of metal plasmons overcome these issues. The incorporation of metal plasmons gained significance for improving the PEC water splitting performance. This review summarizes the possible main mechanisms such as plasmon-induced resonance energy transfer (PIRET), hot electron injection (HEI), and light scatting/trapping. It also deliberates the rational design of plasmonic structures for PEC water splitting. Furthermore, this review highlights the advantages of plasmonic metal-supported photoelectrodes for PEC water splitting.