Photochemical hydrogen production using advanced semiconducting metal oxide nanostructures

Photochemical hydrogen production using sunlight and water is a highly promising direction for the development of low-cost and carbon-free fuel sources. Over the last decade, significant progress has been made in the development of metal oxide-based photocatalysts for hydrogen production. In this chapter, we begin with a brief overview of photocatalyst-based hydrogen production, followed by a discussion of the photocatalytic activity of selected wide bandgap metal oxide-based photocatalysts such as TiO₂, SrTiO₃, ZnO, and WO₃. The primary focus of this chapter is to examine recent scientific literature published after 2015 in order to discuss potential routes to improve H₂ generation rates. Finally, some closing remarks and potential future research directions for the development of effective photocatalysts are provided.