Investigations of photocatalytic water splitting and reduction of carbon dioxide

Abstract

Solar-to-chemical energy conversion provides a means to overcome the energy crisis and environmental issues presently faced by mankind. Increase in energy consumption and rise in the atmospheric levels of CO2 due to the burning of carbonbased fuels, both these problems are faced today.[1] There have been efforts to develop clean, reliable, environmentally friendly and sustainable alternative energy sources. Nature provides us a strategy to overcome the energy crisis employing the photosynthesis process which uses earth-abundant water and CO2 in the conversion of solar energy to chemical fuels. Production of a clean energy source such as hydrogen from water, using solar energy by mimicking photosynthesis would be a worthwhile task. It should be noted that hydrogen is a green-energy source with a chemical energy density of 142 MJ/kg.