Researchers of Transparent and Conductive Materials and Devices Laboratory in IESL/FORTH have developed p-Cu(OH)₂/n-SrTiO₃ heterojunctions for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production. According to available literature, this is the first study to utilize an STO catalyst decorated with Cu(OH)₂ via a simple photodeposition method as a photocatalyst for hydrogen production under solar iradiation.

Photocatalytic activity and innovation

Flower-like SrTiO₃ photocatalysts decorated with different weight percentages of Cu(OH)₂ (0.1–5 wt.%) were synthesized via a simple solvothermal and photodeposition method. The optimized 1 wt.% Cu(OH)₂/STO exhibited the highest H₂ evolution rate (∼139 μmol h⁻¹; ∼6950 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹) under λ> 360 nm, along with excellent stability. The remarkable performance enhancement is attributed to the formation of a well-integrated p–n heterojunction at the Cu(OH)₂/STO interface, which facilitates efficient charge separation and transfer.  This study highlights Cu(OH)₂/STO as an effective photocatalyst for hydrogen production and provides deeper insight into the complex charge-transfer dynamics at these interfaces.

Future impact

This work paves the way for developing highly efficient, stable, and scalable photocatalytic systems for sustainable hydrogen production.

Research and Publication Details

This research work was carried out as part of the postdoctoral research of Evangelia Skliri (first author), in collaboration with Anna P. Souri (PhD), Dr. Ioannis Vamvasakis, Dr. Evangelos Andreou, Prof. Gerasimos Armatas (Department of Materials Science and Engineering), and Prof. Vassilios Binas (Transparent and Conductive Materials and Devices Laboratory – IESL-FORTH; Chemistry Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki).

Corresponding authors from IESL: Dr. Evangelia Skliri and Prof. Vassilios Binas

For more details:  https://doi.org/10.1002/adsu.202500127 [1]