Photocatalysts for hydrogen production from water based on oxide nanopowders synthesized by laser evaporation of ceramic target

The paper deals with the problem of designing photocatalysts for green technologies of hydrogen production from water. Such technologies are treated as an alternative to fossil energy sources. Promising technologies based on dissociation of water molecules on the surface of rutile TiO2 and some other oxides. Dissociation occurs under sunlight and requires no energy costs. Commercial application of known photocatalysts is not feasible because of low efficiency. To solve this problem the work offers a new approach based on using oxide nanopowders synthesized by the laser evaporation of ceramic target technique. Some of these materials are semiconductors possessing properties favorable for photocatalysis: they have small band gaps and high concentrations of oxygen vacancies in nanoparticles’ surface layer. We have studied the properties of a YSZ10 oxide nanopowder synthesized by the laser technique. The objective of the investigation was to measure the thickness of ОН- and H2O layers on the oxide surface that form upon its interaction with humid air. To determine the layer thickness, the technique of nuclear reactions was employed. Humidity, temperature and air pressure were typical for laboratory environments. YSZ10 was established to be a superhydrophilic material. The OH- layer thickness characterizing the dissociation rate of H2O molecules was one monolayer which is a theoretical limit for this parameter. The results of the study imply that YSZ10 oxide nanopowders are a promising material for photocatalysts in green technologies for hydrogen production from water.