Nowadays clean and renewable energy supply is one of the biggest challenges for the mankind. Hydrogen is often proposed as a prospective fuel of the future, but there are numerous scientific and technological problems to be solved on the way to the hydrogen economy. One of them is hydrogen production. The most efficient way of hydrogen production would be direct water splitting using solar energy. Photoelectrode materials for solar water splitting cells must fulfill a number of requirements: an appropriate band gap, band edge positions, high specific surface area, long term chemical and mechanical stability, low cost of fabrication. In this work, porous thin film electrodes for photoelectochemical solar water splitting were developed by the dealloying approach. The search for materials with optimal physical and photoelectrochemical properties inevitably involves fabrication and characterization of a large number of samples. In order to accelerate this search, combinatorial and high-throughput methods were used for fabrication and investigation of the thin film materials libraries.

Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Production describes the principles and materials challenges for the conversion of sunlight into hydrogen through water splitting at a semiconducting electrode. Readers will find an analysis of the solid state properties and materials requirements for semiconducting photo-electrodes, a detailed description of the semiconductor/electrolyte interface, in addition to the photo-electrochemical (PEC) cell. Experimental techniques to investigate both materials and PEC device performance are outlined, followed by an overview of the current state-of-the-art in PEC materials and devices, and combinatorial approaches towards the development of new materials. Finally, the economic and business perspectives of PEC devices are discussed, and promising future directions indicated. Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Production is a one-stop resource for scientists, students and R&D practitioners starting in this field, providing both the theoretical background as well as useful practical information on photoelectrochemical measurement techniques. Experts in the field benefit from the chapters on current state-of-the-art materials/devices and future directions.

Cleavage of water to its constituents (i.e., hydrogen and oxygen) for production of hydrogen energy at an industrial scale is one of the "holy grails" of materials science. That can be done by utilizing the renewable energy resource i.e. sunlight and photocatalytic material. The sunlight and water are abundant and free of cost available at this planet. But the development of a stable, efficient and cost-effective photocatalytic material to split water is still a great challenge. To develop the effective materials for photocatalytic water splitting, various type of materials with different sizes and structures from nano to giant have been explored that includes metal oxides, metal chalcogenides, carbides, nitrides, phosphides, and so on. Fundamental concepts and state of art materials for the water splitting are also discussed to understand the phenomenon/mechanism behind the photoelectrochemical water splitting. This book gives a comprehensive overview and description of the manufacturing of photocatalytic materials and devices for water splitting by controlling the chemical composition, particle size, morphology, orientation and aspect ratios of the materials. The real technological breakthroughs in the development of the photoactive materials with considerable efficiency, are well conversed to bring out the practical aspects of the technique and its commercialization.

This book outlines many of the techniques involved in materials development and characterization for photoelectrochemical (PEC) – for example, proper metrics for describing material performance, how to assemble testing cells and prepare materials for assessment of their properties, and how to perform the experimental measurements needed to achieve reliable results towards better scientific understanding. For each technique, proper procedure, benefits, limitations, and data interpretation are discussed. Consolidating this information in a short, accessible, and easy to read reference guide will allow researchers to more rapidly immerse themselves into PEC research and also better compare their results against those of other researchers to better advance materials development. This book serves as a “how-to” guide for researchers engaged in or interested in engaging in the field of photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. PEC water splitting is a rapidly growing field of research in which the goal is to develop materials which can absorb the energy from sunlight to drive electrochemical hydrogen production from the splitting of water. The substantial complexity in the scientific understanding and experimental protocols needed to sufficiently pursue accurate and reliable materials development means that a large need exists to consolidate and standardize the most common methods utilized by researchers in this field.

Solar water splitting using photoelectrochemical cells (PEC's) is a promising pathway toward clean and sustainable storage of renewable energy. However, developing a PEC device that is efficient, durable, and also scalable has been a huge challenge so far. This dissertation addresses these challenges by developing photocathodes based on inexpensive absorber materials such as germanium and silicon. In particular, efficient silicon heterojunction solar cells are studied in order to stabilize them under corrosive hydrogen evolution environments while maintaining their excellent photovoltaic performance using TiO2 protection layers deposited using atomic layer deposition. High activity oxygen evolution electrocatalysts are also fabricated on porous substrate materials in order to minimize the overpotential required. Finally, we combine the photocathode and the anode in a novel integrated solar water splitting architecture, and demonstrate a solar-to-hydrogen (STH) efficiency in excess of 10%, a record high STH efficiency for an integrated silicon photosynthesis device, and stable operation for > 120 hours.

This book explores key parameters, properties and fundamental concepts of electrocatalysis. It also discusses the engineering strategies, current applications in fuel-cells, water-splitting, metal-ion batteries, and fuel generation. This book elucidates entire category viewpoints together with industrial applications. Therefore, all the sections of this book emphasize the recent advances of different types of electrocatalysts, current challenges, and state-of-the-art studies through detailed reviews. This book is the result of commitments by numerous experts in the field from various backgrounds and expertise and appeals to industrialists, researchers, scientists and in addition understudies from various teaches.