Thermochemical Water Splitting for Sustainable Hydrogen Production Using Ceria Nanorods

As a part of global sustainable development efforts, green hydrogen has emerged as a promising energy source and attracted considerable attention in recent years. Hydrogen production is increasingly promoted worldwide because of its potential to advance the global energy transition and support decarbonization. Despite these advantages, the sustainable production of green hydrogen remains a significant challenge. Many existing production methods still face limitations in terms of environmental sustainability, highlighting the need for further research into more efficient and environmentally favorable hydrogen production technologies. Thermochemical water splitting has been recognized as one of the most promising methods to enhance sustainable hydrogen generation. By producing only hydrogen and oxygen as reaction products, the process minimizes environmental emissions and provides a cleaner alternative to conventional production technologies. The presented research investigates thermochemical water splitting for the sustainable use of ceria nanorods. Ceria nanorods were synthesized to generate a catalyst that, in turn, would split water and produce hydrogen. Various dopant materials were examined to obtain the one that produced the most hydrogen. In addition, different testing conditions were used, which in turn resulted in varying outcomes in terms of hydrogen production. Advanced characterization techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), have been widely utilized to investigate the structural, morphological, and surface chemical properties of catalysts. These complementary techniques provide valuable information on crystal structure, particle size and morphology, elemental composition, oxidation states, and redox behavior, enabling a comprehensive evaluation of catalyst characteristics and their relationship to catalytic performance.