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Floatable photocatalytic hydrogel nanocomposites for large-scale solar hydrogen production

Cited 60 time in Web of Science Cited 61 time in Scopus
Authors

Lee, Wang Hee; Lee, Chan Woo; Cha, Gi Doo; Lee, Byoung-Hoon; Jeong, Jae Hwan; Park, Hyunseo; Heo, Junhyeok; Bootharaju, Megalamane S.; Sunwoo, Sung-Hyuk; Kim, Jeong Hyun; Ahn, Kyung Hyun; Kim, Dae-HyeongHyeon, Taeghwan

Issue Date
2023-07
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Citation
Nature Nanotechnology, Vol.18 No.7, pp.754-762
Abstract
Storing solar energy in chemical bonds aided by heterogeneous photocatalysis is desirable for sustainable energy conversion. Despite recent progress in designing highly active photocatalysts, inefficient solar energy and mass transfer, the instability of catalysts and reverse reactions impede their practical large-scale applications. Here we tackle these challenges by designing a floatable photocatalytic platform constructed from porous elastomer-hydrogel nanocomposites. The nanocomposites at the air-water interface feature efficient light delivery, facile supply of water and instantaneous gas separation. Consequently, a high hydrogen evolution rate of 163 mmol h(-1) m(-2) can be achieved using Pt/TiO2 cryoaerogel, even without forced convection. When fabricated in an area of 1 m(2) and incorporated with economically feasible single-atom Cu/TiO2 photocatalysts, the nanocomposites produce 79.2 ml of hydrogen per day under natural sunlight. Furthermore, long-term stable hydrogen production in seawater and highly turbid water and photoreforming of polyethylene terephthalate demonstrate the potential of the nanocomposites as a commercially viable photocatalytic system. Floatable hydrogel nanocomposites, with facile intercalation of various photocatalysts, effectively produce hydrogen. The easily scalable nature of the nanocomposites demonstrates the practical application of this new type of photocatalytic platform.
ISSN
1748-3387
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/10371/192802
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-023-01385-4
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  • School of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Research Area Materials Science

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