Harnessing sunlight by photocatalysis: a sustainable pathway for renewable fuels and clean water

摘要

Photocatalysis has been known since the early 20th century from the flaking of paints and the degradation of fabrics incorporating TiO_2 under sunlight. However, significant research on photocatalysis did not initiate until early 1970s, when Fujishima and Honda demonstrated splitting of water to H_2 and O_2 under near-UV using a titania photoanode and a platinum cathode. Interestingly, this breakthrough came at the verge of oil crisis, which thereafter stimulated a rapid growth of the scientific literature on photocatalysis over a decade.