This critical review shows the basis of photocatalytic water splitting and experimental points, and surveys heterogeneous photocatalyst materials for water splitting into H2 and O2, and H2 or O2 evolution from an aqueous solution containing a sacrificial reagent Many oxides consisting of metal cations with d0 and d10 configurations, metal (oxy)sulfide and metal (oxy)nitride photocatalysts have been reported, especially during the latest decade The fruitful photocatalyst library gives important information on factors affecting photocatalytic performances and design of new materials Photocatalytic water splitting and H2 evolution using abundant compounds as electron donors are expected to contribute to construction of a clean and simple system for solar hydrogen production, and a solution of global energy and environmental issues in the future (361 references)

Heterogeneous photocatalyst materials for water splitting

Energy harvested directly from sunlight offers a desirable approach toward fulfilling, with minimal environmental impact, the need for clean energy. Solar energy is a decentralized and inexhaustible natural resource, with the magnitude of the available solar power striking the earth’s surface at any one instant equal to 130 million 500 MW power plants.1 However, several important goals need to be met to fully utilize solar energy for the global energy demand. First, the means for solar energy conversion, storage, and distribution should be environmentally benign, i.e. protecting ecosystems instead of steadily weakening them. The next important goal is to provide a stable, constant energy flux. Due to the daily and seasonal variability in renewable energy sources such as sunlight, energy harvested from the sun needs to be efficiently converted into chemical fuel that can be stored, transported, and used upon demand. The biggest challenge is whether or not these goals can be met in a costeffective way on the terawatt scale.2

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/cr1002326

Solar Water Splitting Cells

Boron-doped silicon nanowires (SiNWs) were used to create highly sensitive, real-time electrically based sensors for biological and chemical species. Amine- and oxide-functionalized SiNWs exhibit pH-dependent conductance that was linear over a large dynamic range and could be understood in terms of the change in surface charge during protonation and deprotonation. Biotin-modified SiNWs were used to detect streptavidin down to at least a picomolar concentration range. In addition, antigen-functionalized SiNWs show reversible antibody binding and concentration-dependent detection in real time. Lastly, detection of the reversible binding of the metabolic indicator Ca2+ was demonstrated. The small size and capability of these semiconductor nanowires for sensitive, label-free, real-time detection of a wide range of chemical and biological species could be exploited in array-based screening and in vivo diagnostics.

/pdf/nanowire-nanosensors-for-highly-sensitive-and-selective-4f3aqhtkwe.pdf

Nanowire Nanosensors for Highly Sensitive and Selective Detection of Biological and Chemical Species

Photoinduced reactivity of titanium dioxide

The interest in heterogeneous photocatalysis is intense and increasing, as shown by the number of publications on this theme which regularly appear in this journal, and the fact that over 2000 papers have been published on this topic since 1981. This article is an overview of the field of semiconductor photocatalysis : a brief examination of its roots, achievements and possible future. The semiconductor titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) features predominantly in past and present work on semiconductor photocatalysis; as a result, in the most of the examples selected in this overview to illustrate various points the semiconductor is TiO 2 .

An overview of semiconductor photocatalysis

Host‐to‐Guest, Excited‐State Energy Transfer in Lamellar Solids.

Etude de l'absorption optique (350-650 nm) et de la photoluminescence du compose lamellaire H 0,7 [Cr(NM 3 ) 6 ] 0,1 UO 2 PO 4 •6H 2 O obtenu par precipitation a partir d'une solution aqueuse de H 3 PO 4 contenant des ions UO 2 2+ et Cr(NH 3 ) 6 3+ . Observation d'un transfert d'energie de UO 2 2+ au complexe de Cr 3+ avec un rendement voisin de 1. Etude de la photolyse (rayonnement visible) du solide a 295 K: formation de Cr(NM 3 )(H 2 O) 5 3+ et Cr(NM 3 ) 2 (H 2 O) 4 3+ principalement, preuve d'une photosubstitution de coordinat dans le solide

Efficient host-to-guest excited-state energy transfer in a lamellar solid: photoluminescence and photoaquation of hexaamminechromium(iii)-substituted hydrogen uranyl phosphate

Electroluminescence (EL) cells have been constructed with the layered, ionically conducting solid, hydrogen uranyl phosphate, HUO{sub 2}PO{sub 4} {center dot} 4H{sub 2}O (HUP), as the emissive medium. With ac excitation, both uranyl emission and molecular nitrogen plasma emission are observed, with the latter appearing to excite the former; the uranyl EL spectrum matches the photoluminescence spectrum of the solid. Similar results were obtained with fully substituted sodium (NaUP), magnesium (Mg{sub 0.5}UP), and pyridinium (pyHUP) derivatives of HUP. For all of these solids, the dependence of the EL intensity on sample thickness, ac frequency, and applied voltage has been determined. Typical operating conditions are 1.5--3.0 kV at 0.2--4 kHz. Impedance measurements permitted acquisition of dielectric constants and ionic conductivities for these solids, both of which decrease in the order HUP {gt} NaUP {gt} Mg{sub 0.5}UP {gt} pyHUP. A model describing the dependence of EL intensity on cell parameters is presented.

Arthur B. Ellis

Papers

Host‐to‐Guest, Excited‐State Energy Transfer in Lamellar Solids.

Efficient host-to-guest excited-state energy transfer in a lamellar solid: photoluminescence and photoaquation of hexaamminechromium(iii)-substituted hydrogen uranyl phosphate

Electroluminescence Cells Based on the Lamellar Solid Hydrogen Uranyl Phosphate