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Updated: Dec 26, 2025

Experimental Methods for Efficient Solar Hydrogen Production in Microgravity Environment
Published on: December 3, 2019
A Hydrogen Farm Strategy for Scalable Solar Hydrogen Production with Particulate Photocatalysts
Yue Zhao1,2, Chunmei Ding1, Jian Zhu1
1State Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhongshan Road 457, Dalian, 116023, China.
Abstract:
Scalable solar hydrogen production by water splitting using particulate photocatalysts is promising for renewable energy utilization. However, photocatalytic overall water splitting is challenging owing to slow water oxidation kinetics, severe reverse reaction, and H2 /O2 gas separation. Herein, mimicking nature photosynthesis, a practically feasible approach named Hydrogen Farm Project (HFP) is presented, which is composed of solar energy capturing and hydrogen production subsystems integrated by a shuttle ion loop, Fe3+ /Fe2+ . Well-defined BiVO4 crystals with precisely tuned {110}/{010} facets are ideal photocatalysts to realize the HFP, giving up to 71 % quantum efficiency for photocatalytic water oxidation and full forward reaction with nearly no reverse reaction. An overall solar-to-chemical efficiency over 1.9 % and a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency exceeding 1.8 % could be achieved. Furthermore, a scalable HFP panel for solar energy storage was demonstrated under sunlight outdoors.
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