Mohammad Ziaur Rahman

This article exposes the thermodynamic, economic, and environmental unsustainability of sacrificial agent-dependent hydrogen production, and advocates for priority allocation of resources for hydrogen production from overall water-splitting.

Industrial hydrogen production via water electrolysis is critically limited by the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), especially at high current densities (>500 mA cm ⁻² ) where conventional NiFe electrocatalysts fail due to poor conductivity and mass transport. We overcome this barrier through a transformative nanoengineering strategy, namely, of boron‐doped, mesoporous NiFe alloy nanosheets directly grown on carbon cloth (m‐NiFe‐CC). This approach uniquely leverages dimethylamine borane as a dual reducing agent/boron dopant and Brij 56 surfactant to create ordered 5–7 nm mesopores, enabling efficient mass/charge transport. The optimized m‐NiFe‐CC achieves record‐low overpotentials of 225, 270, and 329 mV at 10, 100, and 500 mA cm ⁻² outperforming state‐of‐the‐art NiFe catalysts, while exhibiting an 8‐fold higher turnover frequency (0.7 s ⁻¹ at 300 mV) and exceptional 100‐h stability at industrial‐grade current density. In situ surface reconstruction forms conductive NiFeB cores and active NiFeOOH phases, driven by boron‐mediated electronic modulation. This work establishes a scalable paradigm for nanoscale architectural control in high‐current‐density electrocatalysis, bridging fundamental innovation with industrial green hydrogen production.

Heteronuclear Cu–Au sites on carbon nitride enable photothermal CO ₂ conversion to ethane with 87% selectivity and long-term stability. Interfacial electronic asymmetry prolongs carrier lifetimes, stabilizes key intermediates, and lowers C–C coupling.

This article provides photophysical insight into how reduced graphene oxide when incorporated into d-CN skeleton can overcome the limiting factors for hydrogen evolution.

In photochemical production of hydrogen from water, the hole-mediated oxidation reaction is the rate-determining step. A poor solar-to-hydrogen efficiency is usually related to a mismatch between the internal quantum efficiency of photon-induced hole generation and the apparent quantum yield of hydrogen. This waste of photogenerated holes is unwanted yet unavoidable. Although great progress has been made, we are still far away from the required level of dexterity to deal with the associated challenges of wasted holes and its consequential chemical effects that have placed one of the greatest bottlenecks in attaining high solar-to-hydrogen efficiency. A critical assessment of the hole and its related phenomena in solar hydrogen production would, therefore, pave the way moving forward. In this regard, we focus on the contextual and conceptual understanding of the dynamics and kinetics of photogenerated holes and its critical role in driving redox reactions, with the objective of guiding future research. The main reasons behind and consequences of unused holes are examined and different approaches to improve overall efficiency are outlined. We also highlight yet unsolved research questions related to holes in solar fuel production.