1 research outputs found
Omnidirectional Hydrogen Generation Based on a Flexible Black Gold Nanotube Array
Solar-driven hydrogen generation
is emerging as an economical
and
sustainable means of producing renewable energy. However, current
photocatalysts for hydrogen generation are mostly powder-based or
rigid-substrate-supported, which suffer from limitations, such as
difficulties in catalyst regeneration or poor omnidirectional light-harvesting.
Here, we report a two-dimensional (2D) flexible photocatalyst based
on elastomer-supported black gold nanotube (GNT) arrays with conformal
CdS coating and Pt decoration. The highly porous GNT arrays display
a strong light-trapping effect, leading to near-complete absorption
over almost the entire range of the solar spectrum. In addition, they
offer high surface-to-volume ratios promoting efficient photocatalytic
reactions. These structural features result in high H2 generation
efficiencies. Importantly, our elastomer-supported photocatalyst displays
comparable photocatalytic activity even when being mechanically deformed,
including bending, stretching, and twisting. We further designed a
three-dimensional (3D) tree-like flexible photocatalytic system to
mimic Nature’s photosynthesis, which demonstrated omnidirectional
H2 generation. We believe our strategy represents a promising
route in designing next-generation solar-to-fuel systems that rival
natural plants