University of Córdoba Researchers Boost Solar Green Hydrogen Yields With Modified Photocatalysts

Researchers at the University of Córdoba have demonstrated a method to improve green hydrogen production from solar energy by applying specialized dispersion and thermal treatments to metal-enhanced photocatalysts, as reported by TechXplore (https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-photocatalysts-boost-solar-hydrogen-production.html).

Green hydrogen produces only water vapor when consumed, offering a zero-emission alternative to fossil fuels. However, current commercial hydrogen production relies heavily on the fossil fuels it aims to displace. To establish a cleaner pathway, the university's Organic Chemistry and Catalysis research group focused on photocatalysis, a process that converts sunlight directly into chemical energy.

The team used titanium dioxide as a base photocatalyst due to its stability and low cost. On its own, however, titanium dioxide loses more than 90% of the light it receives almost instantly, prior to converting it into hydrogen. To address this limitation, the researchers tested adding various metals to the titanium dioxide under simulated sunlight.

In laboratory testing, noble metals like gold and platinum yielded the highest efficiency for converting sunlight into chemical energy and generating hydrogen. However, copper—a significantly less expensive non-noble metal—produced results that approached those of noble metals.

"Copper would be a very promising catalyst for scaling up hydrogen production to an industrial level," said Juan Martín Gómez, a researcher at the University of Córdoba.

The researchers found that the method of metal incorporation proved just as critical as the choice of metal. A technique known as deposition–precipitation dispersed the metal into fine particles across the titanium dioxide, facilitating higher hydrogen yields.

The study also showed that a thermal pretreatment was necessary to eliminate surface contaminants that poisoned the interaction between the metal and the titanium dioxide.

The findings were published in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy in a paper titled "Structure–activity relationships in metal/TiO 2 photocatalysts for hydrogen production via glycerol photoreforming," authored by Juan Martín-Gómez and colleagues.