On Solar Hydrogen& Nanotechnology

The multi-author book OnSolar Hydrogen & Nanotechnol-

ogy, edited by Lionel Vayssieres,seeks to highlight recent research

results on the photoelectrochemical pro-duction of hydrogen in combination with

nanotechnological approaches. I am sure thatthe authors spark a lot of interest by marrying twohighly topical and innovative fields of science.However, there remains the question of whetherthis volume goes beyond serving current trends.

The book is divided into five parts, which areentitled “Fundamentals, Modeling, and Experi-mental Investigation of Photocatalytic Reactionsfor Direct Solar Hydrogen Generation”, “Elec-tronic Structure, Energetics and Transport Dynam-ics of Photocatalyst Nanostructures”, “Develop-ment of Advanced Nanostructures for EfficientSolar Hydrogen Production from Classical LargeBandgap Semiconductors”, “New Design andApproaches to Bandgap Profiling and Visible-light-active Nanostructures”, and “New Devicesfor Solar Thermal Hydrogen Generation”. Thus,the collection covers fundamental aspects, thesynthesis and characterization of new nanomateri-als, the important topic of visible-light-drivensplitting of water (6 chapters), and finally solarthermal hydrogen production.

The first part of the book contains an introduc-tory chapter by Eric Miller and three contributionsabout photocatalysis on TiO2 surfaces. Two chap-ters on modeling of these reactions are comple-mented by one on a high-resolution scanningtunneling microscopy study of oxygen and hydro-gen adatoms on a rutile(110) surface. Since TiO2 isthe most important photocatalyst, it is an obviouschoice to start the volume with articles on thismaterial. Spectroscopy is an important tool toelucidate the electronic structure of materials. Part

2 is mainly devoted to X-ray, UV/Vis, and infraredspectroscopic studies of different photocatalysts.Chapter 9 is concerned with the comprehensivecharacterization of a specific system: quantum-dot-sensitized TiO2 photocathodes.

The first two parts of Vayssieres�s book dealwith general and fundamental issues of photocata-lytic water splitting. Part 3 brings in the specific biastowards nanotechnology. The four chapters of thispart describe the synthesis and characterization ofnanostructured TiO2, ZnO, WO3, and Fe2O3 photo-electrodes. From my perspective, Part 4 was themost exciting to read, as it contains chapters onnon-classical approaches and attempts to findphotocatalysts for the visible region of the spec-trum. This includes a chapter on high-throughputscreening of photocatalysts, two on the synthesis ofnew nanostructured materials (classical photocata-lysts and quantum-dot-sensitized systems), one ondoped photocatalysts, and one on supramolecularphotocatalysts. The book concludes with two chap-ters on recent developments in solar thermalsplitting of water.

In conclusion, I think that the book will beinteresting for scientists and students of neighbor-ing fields who like to expand their knowledge, orfor “beginners” (e.g., new PhD students) to obtainan overview of the state of the art. Since thisvolume contains a collection of chapters on veryspecific and advanced research results, it is notsuitable as a textbook for undergraduate students.In answer to my question at the start of this review,I find that this work contains solid in-depth science,and goes far beyond “trendy” issues. I can recom-mend this collection to interested readers.

Thomas NannIan Wark Research InstituteUniversity of South AustraliaMawson Lakes (Australia)

DOI: 10.1002/anie.201003557

On Solar Hydrogen &NanotechnologyEdited by Lionel Vayssieres. JohnWiley & Sons, Hoboken 2010.704 pp., hardcover E 212.00.—ISBN 978-0470823972

AngewandteChemieBooks

5409Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2010, 49, 5409 � 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim