F-Doped Co₃O₄ Photocatalysts for Sustainable H₂ Generation from Water/Ethanol

Abstract

p-Type Co₃O₄ nanostructured films are synthesized by a plasma-assisted process and tested in the photocatalytic production of H₂ from water/ethanol solutions under both near-UV and solar irradiation. It is demonstrated that the introduction of fluorine into p-type Co₃O₄ results in a remarkable performance improvement with respect to the corresponding undoped oxide, highlighting F-doped Co₃O₄ films as highly promising systems for hydrogen generation. Notably, the obtained yields were among the best ever reported for similar semiconductor-based photocatalytic processes