Photocatalytic Seawater Splitting

Low-carbon technologies have attracted wide interest for researchers. Among them, H2 production from seawater splitting via photocatalysis is the most promising approach due to its abundant resources, low cost, and ease of construction on the large scale. However, there are many differences between water and seawater splitting in photocatalytic reactions. The ionic components in seawater and precipitate generation during the photocatalytic reaction have great impacts on seawater splitting. In this chapter, we have thoroughly introduced the principle, performance evaluation parameter, and features of photocatalytic seawater splitting, and we also summarized the recent development of the most fabricated photocatalysts including their structure, defects, and performances. At last, we discussed the economic cost and practical value of photocatalytic hydrogen industrialization, briefly summarized the design of large-scale synthesis and catalytic systems for photocatalysts, and explored their cost competitiveness.