Carminati SA, Rodríguez-Gutiérrez I, de Morais A, da Silva BL, Melo MA, Souza FL, Nogueira AF. Challenges and prospects about the graphene role in the design of photoelectrodes for sunlight-driven water splitting.
RSC Adv 2021;
11:14374-14398. [PMID:
35424005 PMCID:
PMC8698315 DOI:
10.1039/d0ra10176a]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Accepted: 03/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Graphene and its derivatives have emerged as potential materials for several technological applications including sunlight-driven water splitting reactions. This review critically addresses the latest achievements concerning the use of graphene as a player in the design of hybrid-photoelectrodes for photoelectrochemical cells. Insights about the charge carrier dynamics of graphene-based photocatalysts which include metal oxides and non-metal oxide semiconductors are also discussed. The concepts underpinning the continued progress in the field of graphene/photoelectrodes, including different graphene structures, architecture as well as the possible mechanisms for hydrogen and oxygen reactions are also presented. Despite several reports having demonstrated the potential of graphene-based photocatalysts, the achieved performance remains far from the targeted benchmark efficiency for commercial application. This review also highlights the challenges and opportunities related to graphene application in photoelectrochemical cells for future directions in the field.
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