Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2019, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (3): 240-288.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(19)63294-8

• Reviews • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Ni-based photocatalytic H2-production cocatalysts

Rongchen Shena, Jun Xiea, Quanjun Xiangb, Xiaobo Chenc, Jizhou Jiangd, Xin Lia   

  1. a College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, Key Laboratory of Energy Plants Resource and Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Biomass Energy of Guangdong Regular Higher Education Institutions, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, Guangdong, China;
    b State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Film and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, Sichuan, China;
    c Department of Chemistry, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, 64110, USA;
    d School of Environmental Ecology and Biological Engineering, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430205, Hubei, China
  • Received:2018-11-01 Revised:2019-01-08 Online:2019-03-18 Published:2019-02-22
  • Supported by:

    This work was supprted by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51672089, 51672099), Specical Funding on Applied Science and Technology in Guangdong (2017B020238005), the State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Material Synthesis and Processing (Wuhan University of Technology) (2015-KF-7).

Abstract:

Photocatalysis is believed to be one of the best methods to realize sustainable H2 production. However, achieving this through heterogeneous photocatalysis still remains a great challenge owing to the absence of active sites, sluggish surface reaction kinetics, insufficient charge separation, and a high thermodynamic barrier. Therefore, cocatalysts are necessary and of great significance in boosting photocatalytic H2 generation. This review will focus on the promising and appealing low-cost Ni-based H2-generation cocatalysts as the alternatives for the high-cost and low-abundance noble metal cocatalysts. Special emphasis has been placed on the design principle, modification strategies for further enhancing the activity and stability of Ni-based cocatalysts, and identification of the exact active sites and surface reaction mechanisms. Particularly, four types of modification strategies based on increased light harvesting, enhanced charge separation, strengthened interface interaction, and improved electrocatalytic activity have been thoroughly discussed and compared in detail. This review may open a new avenue for designing highly active and durable Ni-based cocatalysts for photocatalytic H2 generation.

Key words: Heterogeneous photocatalysts, Ni-based cocatalysts, Photocatalytic H2 generation, Solar fuel, Heterojunctions