Institut Fuer Technische Chemie, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universitaet Hannover , Callinstrasse 3, Hannover 30167, Germany; Laboratory of Photoactive Nanocomposite Materials, Saint-Petersburg State University , Ulyanovskaya Str. 1, Peterhof, Saint-Petersburg 198504, Russia; School of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology , Xi’an, Shaanxi 710021, People’s Republic of China
Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Manchester , Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom
Tae Hwa Jeon
SK Innovation Co. , 325 Exporo, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34125, Republic of Korea
Bupmo Kim
Department of Chemical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) , Pohang 37673, Republic of Korea
Horst Kisch
Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry. Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg , Egerlandstraße 1, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Chemical Additives for Industry, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology , Xi’an, Shaanxi 710021, People’s Republic of China
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Thin Film and Microfabrication Technology (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University , No. 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, People’s Republic of China
M Muneer
Department of Chemistry, Aligarh Muslim University , Aligarh 202002, India
Nathan Skillen
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, David Keir Building, Stranmillis Road, Queens University Belfast , Belfast BT9 5AL, United Kingdom
Jingzheng Zhang
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Thin Film and Microfabrication Technology (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University , No. 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, People’s Republic of China
As a consequence of the issues resulting from global climate change many nations are starting to transition to being low or net zero carbon economies. To achieve this objective practical alternative fuels are urgently required and hydrogen gas is deemed one of the most desirable substitute fuels to traditional hydrocarbons. A significant challenge, however, is obtaining hydrogen from sources with low or zero carbon footprint i.e. so called ‘green’ hydrogen. Consequently, there are a number of strands of research into processes that are practical techniques for the production of this ‘green’ hydrogen. Over the past five decades there has been a significant body of research into photocatalytic (PC)/photoelectrocatalytic processes for hydrogen production through water splitting or water reduction. There have, however been significant issues faced in terms of the practical capability of this promising technology to produce hydrogen at scale. This road map article explores a range of issues related to both PC and photoelectrocatalytic hydrogen generation ranging from basic processes, materials science through to reactor engineering and applications for biomass reforming.
