An electrode of a chemical cell includes a substrate having a surface, an array of conductive projections supported by the substrate and extending outward from the surface of the substrate, each conductive projection of the array of conductive projections having a semiconductor composition for catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) in the chemical cell, and a plurality of nanoparticles disposed over the array of nanowires, each nanoparticle of the plurality of nanoparticles having a metallic composition for the catalytic conversion of CO.sub.2 in the chemical cell. Each nanoparticle of the plurality of nanoparticles has a size at least an order of magnitude smaller than a lateral dimension of each conductive projection of the array of conductive projections.

Proposed are a photoelectrochemical cell for producing hydrogen peroxide, a method of fabricating the same, and a method of producing hydrogen peroxide using the photoelectrochemical cell. The photoelectrochemical cell includes a photoanode including a photocatalyst, a cathode, and a solid polymer electrolyte layer disposed between the photoanode and the cathode and including a solid polymer electrolyte. The photoelectrochemical cell is for use in the production of hydrogen peroxide, and can produce hydrogen peroxide with electric energy generated from solar energy without requiring the supply of external electric energy.

Proposed are a photoelectrochemical cell for producing hydrogen peroxide, a method of fabricating the same, and a method of producing hydrogen peroxide using the photoelectrochemical cell. The photoelectrochemical cell includes a photoanode including a photocatalyst, a cathode, and a solid polymer electrolyte layer disposed between the photoanode and the cathode and including a solid polymer electrolyte. The photoelectrochemical cell is for use in the production of hydrogen peroxide, and can produce hydrogen peroxide with electric energy generated from solar energy without requiring the supply of external electric energy.

Described herein are devices and methods utilizing cascade photocatalysis to drive multiple chemical reactions via a series of photoelectrochemical catalysts driven by the conversion of light into current by one or more photovoltaic devices. The described devices and methods are tunable and may be used in conjunction with different reactants and products, including the conversion of carbon dioxide into valuable hydrocarbon products.

A semiconductor photoelectrode includes a conductive or insulating substrate, a semiconductor thin film disposed on a surface of substrate and having an uneven structure on the surface, a catalytic layer disposed along the uneven structure on the surface of semiconductor thin film, and a protective layer disposed to cover a back surface of substrate and side surfaces of substrate and semiconductor thin film.

A semiconductor photoelectrode includes a conductive or insulating substrate, a semiconductor thin film disposed on a surface of substrate and having an uneven structure on the surface, a catalytic layer disposed along the uneven structure on the surface of semiconductor thin film, and a protective layer disposed to cover a back surface of substrate and side surfaces of substrate and semiconductor thin film.

Photoelectrochemical cells for the oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid and/or 2,5-diformylfuran are provided. Also provided are methods of using the cells to carry out the electrochemical and photoelectrochemical oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid and/or 2,5-diformylfuran.

An electrolyser (F) for generating hydrogen from water, the electrolyser comprising an electrode (102), the electrode (120) comprising nanoparticles selected from Group 1 nanoparticles or alloys or composites or mixtures thereof.

The present invention is to provide a photocatalyst electrode less likely to suffer from peeling of hematite-based crystal particles from a substrate and having higher catalytic activity than ever before. A method for producing a photocatalyst electrode includes: an in-process particle of heating a raw material solution to form in-process particles, the raw material solution including a raw material solvent and a hematite raw material dispersed therein, the in-process particle forming step including heating the raw material solution in a closed vessel for more than 12 hours; and a burning step of burning the in-process particles. In this way, a photocatalyst electrode with high catalytic activity can be produced.

Systems and methods for treating automotive vehicle emissions on board an automotive vehicle include the use of waste heat recovery, electrochemical water splitting, phototcatalytic water splitting, and selective catalytic reduction. Waste heat recovery is used to power electrochemical water splitting, or photocatalytic water splitting. Photons collected from a solar panel are used in photocatalytic water splitting, or in photo-assisted selective catalytic reduction. Hydrogen gas generated by water splitting is used in conjunction with catalytic reduction units to catalytically reduce NOx in an engine exhaust gas.