Online Photocatalytic System Coupled with GC for Overall Water Splitting and CO2 Photoreduction to Clean Energy Fuels under Sunlight

由于化石燃料的枯竭及其燃烧带来的严重环境问题，迫切需要一种清洁、可再生、低成本和可行的替代化石燃料的新能源。在人工光催化剂的帮助下，将阳光直接转化为燃料（例如太阳能燃料）是一个有吸引力的前景，因为太阳在一小时内向地球提供的能量足以为人类活动提供一整年的动力。我们目前和未来的研究重点是设计新的高效的阳光驱动纳米结构光催化剂，用于水分解成氢和二氧化碳与水的光还原成碳氢化合物，如甲烷和甲醇。这些产品被认为是下一代能源载体。

Due to the depletion of fossil fuels and the serious environmental problems accompanying their combustion, a new form of energy that is clean, renewable, low-cost and a viable alternative to fossil fuels is urgently needed. The direct conversion of sunlight into fuels (e.g., solar fuels) with the aid of an artificial photocatalyst is an attractive prospect, considering that in a single hour the sun delivers enough energy the earth to power human activities for an entire year. Our current and future researches are focused on the design of new efficient sunlight driven nanostructured photocatalysts for water splitting to hydrogen and photoreduction of CO2 with water to hydrocarbons such as methane and methanol. These products are considered as next-generation energy carriers.