Recent Improvements in the Production of Solar Fuels: From CO2 Reduction to Water Splitting and Artificial Photosynthesis

This account deals with recent trends and challenges regarding photo(electro)chemical solar fuels produced by CO2 reduction and water splitting. The CO2 reduction process is limited by product selectivity, catalyst stability, and its complex reaction mechanism. A variety of catalysts—including therm...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan Vol. 92; no. 1; pp. 178 - 192
Main Authors Roy, Nitish, Suzuki, Norihiro, Terashima, Chiaki, Fujishima, Akira
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Tokyo The Chemical Society of Japan 01.01.2019
Chemical Society of Japan
Subjects
Carbon dioxide
Catalysis
Catalysts
Electrocatalysts
Fuels
Materials Innovation
Organic chemistry
Photocatalysis
Photocatalysts
Photosynthesis
Reaction mechanisms
Reduction
Selectivity
Stability
Trends
Water splitting
CO2 reduction
Water splitting
Artificial photosynthesis
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Summary:This account deals with recent trends and challenges regarding photo(electro)chemical solar fuels produced by CO2 reduction and water splitting. The CO2 reduction process is limited by product selectivity, catalyst stability, and its complex reaction mechanism. A variety of catalysts—including thermocatalysts, photocatalysts, electrocatalysts, and combinations of photo- and electrocatalysts—have been employed to facilitate selective and durable CO2 reduction. In addition, the roles of the supporting electrolyte, pH, reaction temperature, chemical environment, and catalyst surface chemistry in efficient CO2 reduction have been thoroughly studied in recent years. Effective use of solar light is a significant part of realizing efficient solar-to-hydrogen conversion during the water splitting process, and so the response of photo(electro)systems to visible light is key. To this end, several strategies have been studied in detail, including band engineering of photocatalysts, photocatalytic systems that mimic natural photosynthesis, and the development of photoanodes and their combination with photovoltaic systems. Here, we summarize recent developments surrounding the CO2-reduction and water-splitting reactions and progress towards achieving artificial photosynthesis.
ISSN:0009-2673
1348-0634
DOI:10.1246/bcsj.20180250