Recent advances in photocatalytic hydrogen evolution with high-performance catalysts without precious metals

The exploitation of green and renewable energy sources is imperative due to the environmental pollution produced by the massive use of non-renewable fossil energy. Hydrogen is a promising clean fuel since it exhibits high energy density and causes no secondary pollution. The photocatalytic production of H₂ from water splitting has gained immense attention since it is a low-cost, low-energy consuming, and environmentally friendly process. Various attempts have been made to prepare active and highly efficient catalysts for photocatalytic H₂ evolution. However, the use of precious metals as co-catalysts makes the H₂ production costly, thus limiting their practical applications. Herein, we discuss the latest advancements in the H₂ evolution on photocatalysts without noble metals. The progress achieved in the development of diverse photocatalysts has been critically evaluated in this review. Special attention has been paid to the challenges and tactics about enhancing the H₂ evolution upon non-noble-metal photocatalysts. This review will be helpful for designing high efficiency photocatalysts for fundamental research and practical applications.