Solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of more than 9% in photocatalytic water splitting

Peng Zhou, Ishtiaque Ahmed Navid, Yongjin Ma, Yixin Xiao, Ping Wang, Zhengwei Ye, Baowen Zhou, Kai Sun and Zetian Mi ()
Additional contact information
Peng Zhou: University of Michigan
Ishtiaque Ahmed Navid: University of Michigan
Yongjin Ma: University of Michigan
Yixin Xiao: University of Michigan
Ping Wang: University of Michigan
Zhengwei Ye: University of Michigan
Baowen Zhou: University of Michigan
Kai Sun: University of Michigan
Zetian Mi: University of Michigan

Nature, 2023, vol. 613, issue 7942, 66-70

Abstract: Abstract Production of hydrogen fuel from sunlight and water, two of the most abundant natural resources on Earth, offers one of the most promising pathways for carbon neutrality1–3. Some solar hydrogen production approaches, for example, photoelectrochemical water splitting, often require corrosive electrolyte, limiting their performance stability and environmental sustainability1,3. Alternatively, clean hydrogen can be produced directly from sunlight and water by photocatalytic water splitting2,4,5. The solar-to-hydrogen (STH) efficiency of photocatalytic water splitting, however, has remained very low. Here we have developed a strategy to achieve a high STH efficiency of 9.2 per cent using pure water, concentrated solar light and an indium gallium nitride photocatalyst. The success of this strategy originates from the synergistic effects of promoting forward hydrogen–oxygen evolution and inhibiting the reverse hydrogen–oxygen recombination by operating at an optimal reaction temperature (about 70 degrees Celsius), which can be directly achieved by harvesting the previously wasted infrared light in sunlight. Moreover, this temperature-dependent strategy also leads to an STH efficiency of about 7 per cent from widely available tap water and sea water and an STH efficiency of 6.2 per cent in a large-scale photocatalytic water-splitting system with a natural solar light capacity of 257 watts. Our study offers a practical approach to produce hydrogen fuel efficiently from natural solar light and water, overcoming the efficiency bottleneck of solar hydrogen production.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05399-1

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