Drives Photochemical Reactions Powered by Solar Energy and at Low Temperatures
This photocatalyst and photolytic process boosts electrochemical efficiency of common industrial reactions, allowing them to occur under solar conditions and low temperatures. The global photocatalyst market is projected to reach $4.58 billion by 2025. Photocatalysts can speed up industrial processes for producing oxygen from water, methane from CO2, and ammonia from nitrogen. These reactions typically require extremely high temperature and pressure, which increases energy costs for very high-volume processes.
Researchers at the University of Florida have developed a photocatalyst that emulates processes used in photosynthesis to increase efficiency of water oxidation. This catalyst reduces temperature and energy requirements of common industrial processes, lowering production costs.
Application
Photocatalyst to improve efficiency of chemical reactions turning water into oxygen, carbon dioxide into methane, and nitrogen into ammonia
Advantages
- Drives reactions under solar conditions and low temperature, reducing energy requirements
- Catechol and Au/TiO2 structure boosts catalytic activity, improving efficiency of photochemical water oxidation
- Reduces reaction temperature to create ammonia, cutting costs of high-volume industrial production
Technology
These Au/TiO2 heterostructures produced under alkaline conditions lead to the photo-generation of hot carriers with longer life spans, which better emulate the efficient charge transfer that occurs during water oxidation in natural photosynthesis. In a typical Au/TiO2 photocatalyst, hot holes transfer from Au and form next to each other on the TiO2 surface, coupling to form pathways for the O2 bond in water oxidation. However, hot electrons from Au also transfer to the TiO2, inevitably recombining with the hot holes and neutralizing potential photoactivity. The introduction of catechol molecules traps hot holes on Au and stabilizes them, greatly increasing their lifetime. Catechol-trapped hot holes also cooperate with newly generated hot holes on Au, thus introducing another charge transfer pathway, boosting photoelectrochemical water oxidation on Au by an order of magnitude.
Brochure
