Quantum mechanics

Catalysis

Valence (chemistry)

Composite number

Engineering

Photochemistry

Metallurgy

Materials science

Water splitting

Biochemistry

Inorganic chemistry

Chemical engineering

Visible spectrum

Hydrogen

Physics

Bismuth

Organic chemistry

Composite material

Chemistry

Electron

Photocatalysis

Hydrogen production

Optoelectronics

Photocatalytic water splitting

Conduction band

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy

Bismuth-based composite oxides are always considered the best visible-light photocatalysts for oxygen production. However, they are failed to photocatalytic reduce the hydrogen from water, due to their lower conduction band made up by Bi 6p and O 2p. Thus, it is significant to modulate their levels of the conduction and valence bands satisfying the redox potential for both H+/H2 and O2/H2O, which will directly lead to discovering new visible-light materials for photocatalytic hydrogen generation. Recent years, some modified bismuth-based composite oxides have been reported to achieve photocatalytic hydrogen production. In this paper, a review of photocatalytic hydrogen generation by bismuth-based composite oxides is presented, mainly including energy band engineering, Z-scheme overall water splitting, and strategies for photocatalytic activity improvement.

A review on bismuth-based composite oxides for photocatalytic hydrogen generation