Electrolyte-assisted polarization leading to enhanced charge separation and solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of seawater splitting

Abstract Photocatalytic splitting of seawater for hydrogen evolution has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years. However, the poor energy conversion efficiency and stability of photocatalysts in a salty environment have greatly hindered further applications of this technology. Moreover, the effects of electrolytes in seawater remain controversial. Here we present electrolyte-assisted charge polarization over an N-doped TiO 2 photocatalyst, which demonstrates the stoichiometric evolution of H 2 and O 2 from the thermo-assisted photocatalytic splitting of seawater. Our extensive characterizations and computational studies show that ionic species in seawater can selectively adsorb on photo-polarized…

• DL
  Diamond Light Source
• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: 12104381, 22003016
• EA
  Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

  Awards: EP/K040375/1, EP/T028637/1, EP/K040375/1