1913
(Invited) 2D Nanosheet-Based Hybrid Photocatalysts for Solar Fuel Production

Tuesday, 31 May 2016: 10:00
Sapphire Ballroom I (Hilton San Diego Bayfront)
S. J. Hwang (Ewha Womans University)
Solar energy is one of the promising renewable energy sources that can fulfill the rising global demand for sustainable energy.  One of the most effective approaches to harvest solar energy is the photoinduced production of solar fuel likes H2 and C1 compounds.  Despite a great deal of researches, most of inorganic photocatalysts ever-developed is not appropriate for the visible light-induced water splitting because of unsuitable band structure and poor stability.  To circumvent this problem, we have tried to synthesize hybrid-type visible light active photocatalysts via self-assembly between two kinds of nanostructured semiconductors including 2D nanosheets and 0D nanoclusters.  As building blocks, the 2D nanosheets of layered metal oxide, layered double hydroxide (LDH), and reduced graphene oxide (rG-O) are synthesized by the exfoliation process of the pristine layered materials.  The obtained 2D inorganic/rG-O nanosheets are reassembled with each other or hybridized with other 0D nanoparticles.  The band structure and surface area of wide bandgap layered metal oxide can be effectively tailored through the hybridization with LDH 2D nanosheets or transition metal oxide/metal chalcogenide 0D nanoparticles.  The obtained nanohybrids show promising photocatalytic activity to produce solar fuel under the irradiation of visible light.