Titania nanotubes as templates for the solar production of hydrogen

Titania nanotubes have emerged as a promising technology that may lead to the economically viable production of solar hydrogen through the photocatalytic splitting of water. Different techniques for the electrochemical fabrication of nanotube arrays are discussed and their light absorption properties are evaluated through reflectivity and photocurrent measurements. The natural absorption spectrum of titanium did not extend beyond the UV. Tto fabricate a feasible device for the solar production of hydrogen, this absorption spectrum has to be extended into the visible part of the solar spectrum. This can be done either by doping or by combining the titania with materials or dyes photoactive within the visible part of the spectrum. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the AIChE Annual Meeting (San Francisco, CA 11/12-17/2006).