Light, Water, Hydrogen: The Solar Generation of Hydrogen by Water Photoelectrolysis [Hardcover]

Craig A. Grimes (Author), Oomman K. Varghese (Author), Sudhir Ranjan (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0387331980 | ISBN-13: 978-0387331980 | Publication Date: December 4, 2007 | Edition: 1

The development of a direct, inexpensive, and efficient method for converting solar energy into a portable, clean fuel would allow elimination of the  growing problems associated with the ever increasing use of fossil fuels and the reality of their rapid depletion.  As the title suggests, Light, Water, Hydrogen: The Solar Generation of Hydrogen by Water Photoelectrolysis, considers the combination of water and light with a suitable semiconductor to achieve a safe, renewable and therefore inexhaustable means for hydrogen generation via the splitting of the water molecule, or photoelectrolysis.

The authors consider the impact of recent advances in nanotechnology on the water photoelectrolysis field, providing specific examples as well as the theories and methods necessary for achieving useful water photoelectrolysis systems.  Written for users in a wide range of disciplines, including materials scientists, chemists, electrical engineers, and physicists, Light, Water, Hydrogen: The Solar Generation of Hydrogen by Water Photoelectrolysis is an up-to-date, invaluable resource for graduate students and researchers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews:

"The ‘Holy Grail’ of artificial photosynthesis, particularly for hydrogen production, is often traced … . This book deals with this field, largely from the point-of-view of solid-state synthesis and engineering. … The book is useful for getting brief descriptions of the huge literature on oxide semiconductors prepared in different ways and their behavior. … if oxide materials, and especially TiO₂ nanostructures, are of major interest, this book will be useful in traversing the massive literature in this field." (Allen J. Bard, Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 130 (26), 2008)

"Grimes and colleagues (all, Pennsylvania State Univ.) have done a marvelous, meticulous job of collecting the latest developments in hydrogen evolution by nontraditional means to prepare the reader to understand and appreciate the importance of semiconductor photoelectrolysis in the energy future. … The logically developed chapters are copiously referenced (more than 1,000 references listed) and liberally annotated with graphs, tables, and other illustrative diagrams. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections." (S. R. Walk, CHOICE, Vol. 45 (11), July, 2008)

From the Back Cover

The development of a direct, inexpensive, and efficient method for converting solar energy into a portable, clean fuel would allow elimination of the  growing problems associated with the ever increasing use of fossil fuels and the reality of their rapid depletion.  As the title suggests, Light, Water, Hydrogen: The Solar Generation of Hydrogen by Water Photoelectrolysis, considers the combination of water and light with a suitable semiconductor to achieve a safe, renewable and therefore inexhaustable means for hydrogen generation via the splitting of the water molecule, or photoelectrolysis. The authors consider the impact of recent advances in nanotechnology on the water photoelectrolysis field, providing specific examples as well as the theories and methods necessary for achieving useful water photoelectrolysis systems.  Written for users in a wide range of disciplines, including materials scientists, chemists, electrical engineers, and physicists, Light, Water, Hydrogen: The Solar Generation of Hydrogen by Water Photoelectrolysis is an up-to-date, invaluable resource for graduate students and researchers.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 568 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (December 4, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0387331980
• ISBN-13: 978-0387331980
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,704,868 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Useful information but book needs editing, February 18, 2009

By 

reviewer81054 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Light, Water, Hydrogen: The Solar Generation of Hydrogen by Water Photoelectrolysis (Hardcover)

This book presents itself as a comprehensive account of water photoelectrolysis but only partially succeeds.

There is a tremendous amount of substance in Light, Water, Hydrogen. It not only covers water photoelectrolysis, but devotes significant portions to other methods of water splitting (thermolysis, electrolysis, etc.). It thus serves as an excellent introduction to less well known methods of hydrogen production. The scientific presentation seems accurate.

One limitation of Light, Water, Hydrogen is that it seems more like a beefed-up doctoral dissertation than a book. This can be seen readily from the fact that 100 pages of the book are devoted to Grimes' work on nanotube arrays (chapter 5), while just 50 pages are devoted to metal oxides as photoanodes and 40 pages to non-oxides. This choice of emphasis provides a scattered coverage of many important materials that are important both historically and presently. That said, the book is over 500 pages long, and the authors do make an attempt to at least touch on most subjects.

The reason I give the book 3 out of 5 stars is because of the terrible editing. The book seems to have not been edited. There are a huge number of grammatical errors. The tables are very difficult to read -- the text has been shrunk down to such a small print that it borders on illegible. Yet these problems will not stop this book from being a useful reference to those new to the field.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely useful book for students, engineers, and scientists, January 15, 2008

By 

Oleg Maksimov "O. Maksimov" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Light, Water, Hydrogen: The Solar Generation of Hydrogen by Water Photoelectrolysis (Hardcover)

This book can serve as an excellent introduction to the field of hydrogen generation by photoelectrolysis for the newcomer as well as a valuable reference for the experienced researcher. It is extremely well structured and starts with the introduction that explains reader the importance of developing renewable and environmentally clean energy sources. Later, it introduces all the necessary scientific concepts, so that a senior student in the Engineering, Chemistry, or Physics program will have no problem reading it. It covers different type of materials considered for the photovoltaic water splitting with the emphasis on the oxide semiconductors. It references a lot of recent publications providing a great overview of the current status of the field. Thus, I highly recommend this book to virtually anybody interested in the field.