The Synthesis of Photocatalysts Using the Polymerizable-Complex Method

Abstract

Fine powders of semiconducting oxides loaded with deposited metal and/or metaloxide particles have been widely used as heterogeneous photocatalysts for innumerable chemical reactions. Among the many photocatalytic reactions, the splitting of water assisted by light has become one of the most active areas in heterogeneous photocatalysis, since it can be a promising chemical route for energy renewal and energy storage. The photocatalytic splitting of water on TiO₂ electrodes, discovered by Fujishima and Honda in 1972, is a prototypic example of this technique, and there is a vast body of literature describing the potential application of TiO₂-based photocatalysts for water decomposition. This has brought about a burst of research related to the development of many other photocatalytic systems.