Green Hydrogen Production Employing Nickel Poly (Heptazine Imide) Photocatalysts: A Low-Cost Catalyst for H2 Evolution

• Grant number: 23/13463-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2023
• Status: Discontinued
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Inorganic Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Ivo Freitas Teixeira
• Grantee: Bruna Rocha Serino
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 20/14741-6 - Graphitic carbon nitrides as platforms for single-atom photocatalysis: moving towards design principles for improved performance, AP.JP
• Associated scholarship(s): 25/00544-8 - Photooxidation of Methane to C1 Oxygenated Products Promoted by Crystalline Carbon Nitride, BE.EP.IC

Abstract

With the growth of the global economy and the decline in the use of fossil fuels, the search for new energy sources poses a challenge for future generations. Our undeniable dependence on fossil resources over the past decades has resulted in considerable impacts on the planet's natural balance, such as pollution and irreversible short-term climate changes. Faced with these concerns, an alternative and promising approach to conventional fossil fuels lies in photocatalysis, utilizing semiconductor-based photocatalysts directly fueled by solar energy to produce green hydrogen via water splitting reaction. Highly crystalline carbon nitrides, primarily constituted of nitrogen and carbon, and active within the visible light spectrum, have emerged as remarkable contenders in this process. However, their widespread utility is restricted by the necessity of incorporating noble metals as cocatalysts (i.e., Pt, Au or Pd), thus rendering the entire process economically impractical. Within the ambit of this research endeavor, we aim to uncover innovative strategies to enhance sustainability while optimizing the cost-efficiency of photocatalytic green H2 production. This pursuit involves the utilization of crystalline carbon nitride based on PHI, enriched with earth-abundant metals as cocatalyst, with a special focus on nickel.