Modified Graphene-Based Compound: Hydrogen Production through Water Splitting

Solar hydrogen production from water splitting can solve two big issues i.e. energy and environmental pollution. Since the discovery of graphene, its importance has been proven in many fields including light-driven hydrogen generation from water. This chapter offers a contemporary overview of the progress of graphene-based materials including graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide and graphene oxide quantum dots for hydrogen evolution from photocatalytic water splitting. This chapter begins with a concise introduction to the current status of hydrogen energy generation from water. The chemical and physical characteristics of this extraordinary plasmonic metamaterial were also elaborated. Afterwards, the synthesis methods, various models, and associated properties of the tailored graphene oxides, reduced graphene oxide and graphene oxide quantum dots in the forms of pristine, binary and ternary compounds are discussed for their application in hydrogen production. In these modified compounds, the graphene acts as a surfactant, a charge-carrier recombination suppressor, an electron-sink and transporter, a co-catalyst, a photocatalyst, and a photosensitizer which, are elaborated . Finally, the chapter ends with a concluding remark on the challenges and future perspectives in this promising field.

Keywords: Allotropes of Carbon, Characterization of GOs, Clean Energy, Comparison of GOs with CNT, Criteria used in Determining the Effect of Reduction of GOs, Different Roles of GOs in Catalysis, Graphene Oxide, GO Quantum Dots, Brodie Method, Hummer Method and Tang–Lau Methods, Primary GOs, Reduced Graphene Oxide, Hydrogen Production, Synthesis of GO, Binary GO System, Ternary GO Systems, Water Splitting, etc.