Rational design of highly effective photocatalysts with atomic-level control - RATOCAT

Project summary

Using the sun’s energy to generate hydrogen from water is probably the cleanest and most sustainable source of fuel that we can envisage. Unfortunately, catalysts that do this are currently too expensive to be commercially viable. The RATOCAT project aims to develop improved photocatalyst materials, along with the processes for their production. The catalytic performance of cheap TiO2 and C3N4 powders will be improved by tailoring their surface with nanostructured oxides as co-catalysts of highly-controlled composition, nanoarchitecture, size and chemical state. First principles simulations will be used to design the optimum nanostructures, which will then be deposited onto powders with the required precision using atomic layer deposition, again supported by simulation. Lab-scale tests of photocatalytic activity will provide feedback for the optimisation of the material and process, before the most promising materials are tested in the field on both pure water and wastewater.