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Enhanced Hydrogen Production by Photoreforming of Renewable Oxygenates Through Nanostructured Fe 2 O 3 Polymorphs
Author(s) -
Carraro Giorgio,
Maccato Chiara,
Gasparotto Alberto,
Montini Tiziano,
Turner Stuart,
Lebedev Oleg I.,
Gombac Valentina,
Adami Gianpiero,
Van Tendeloo Gustaaf,
Barreca Davide,
Fornasiero Paolo
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201302043
Subject(s) - oxygenate , renewable energy , aqueous solution , materials science , hydrogen production , hydrogen , chemical engineering , catalysis , organic chemistry , chemistry , electrical engineering , engineering
Sunlight‐driven hydrogen production via photoreforming of aqueous solutions containing renewable compounds is an attractive option for sustainable energy generation with reduced carbon footprint. Nevertheless, the absence of photocatalysts combining high efficiency and stability upon solar light activation has up to date strongly hindered the development of this technology. Herein, two scarcely investigated iron(III) oxide polymorphs, β‐ and ε‐Fe 2 O 3 , possessing a remarkable activity in sunlight‐activated H 2 generation from aqueous solutions of renewable oxygenates (i.e., ethanol, glycerol, glucose) are reported. For β‐Fe 2 O 3 and ε‐Fe 2 O 3 , H 2 production rates up to 225 and 125 mmol h −1 m −2 are obtained, with significantly superior performances with respect to the commonly investigated α‐Fe 2 O 3 .