A mini-review of ferrites-based photocatalyst on application of hydrogen production

doi:10.1007/s11708-021-0761-0

Front. Energy

2021, Vol. 15

Issue (3) : 621-630 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11708-021-0761-0

MINI REVIEW

A mini-review of ferrites-based photocatalyst on application of hydrogen production

Haoxuan MA, Chunli LIU(

)

Department of Physics and Oxide Research Center, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Yongin 17035, Republic of Korea

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Abstract

Photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen production is a promising strategy to produce renewable energy and decrease production cost. Spinel-ferrites are potential photocatalysts in photocatalytic reaction system due to their room temperature magnetization, the high thermal and chemical stability, narrow bandgap with broader visible light absorption, and proper conduction band energy level with strong oxidation activity for water or organic compounds. However, the fast recombination of the photoexcited electrons and holes is a critical drawback of ferrites. Therefore, the features of crystallinity, particle size, specific surface area, morphology, and band energy structure have been summarized and investigated to solve this issue. Moreover, composites construction with ferrites and the popular support of TiO₂ or g-C₃N₄ are also summarized to illustrate the advanced improvement in photocatalytic hydrogen production. It has been shown that ferrites could induce the formation of metal ions impurity energy levels in TiO₂, and the strong oxidation activity of ferrites could accelerate the oxidation reaction kinetics in both TiO₂/ferrites and g-C₃N₄/ferrites systems. Furthermore, two representative reports of CaFe₂O₄/MgFe₂O₄ composite and ZnFe₂O₄/CdS composite are used to show the efficient heterojunction in a ferrite/ferrite composite and the ability of resistance to photo-corrosion, respectively.

Keywords photocatalyst spinel-ferrite composite photocatalytic hydrogen production

Corresponding Author(s): Chunli LIU

Online First Date: 26 July 2021 Issue Date: 09 October 2021

Cite this article:

Haoxuan MA,Chunli LIU. A mini-review of ferrites-based photocatalyst on application of hydrogen production[J]. Front. Energy, 2021, 15(3): 621-630.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fie/EN/10.1007/s11708-021-0761-0
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fie/EN/Y2021/V15/I3/621

Fig.1 Schematic of photocatalytic production of hydrogen.

Fig.2 Partial unit cell of spinel ferrite AB₂O₄.

Fig.3 Spinel ferrites easily collected by a magnet.

Tab.1 Summary of morphology, particle or crystalline size, crystallinity, and specific surface areas with corresponding HER properties

Fig.4 Normal types (I and II) of junction between two semi-conductors (SC).

Fig.5 Plausible mechanism of photocatalytic activity under UV-visible light (UV-Vis) irradiation of CoFe₂O_4--TiO₂/rGO photocatalyst.

Tab.2 Summary of performances in composites of TiO₂/ferrites and CN/ferrites

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