Case Study: Enhancing Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting with Ti Foils Supplied by Advent

Can a sponge-like metal surface help us make clean fuel from sunlight?

That’s exactly what researchers from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and Universitat Politècnica de València set out to explore — using high-purity titanium foils supplied by Advent Research Materials.

Their findings, published in ECS Electrochemistry Letters (DOI: 10.1149/2.005303eel), show how a new type of TiO₂ "nanosponge" layer could improve solar-powered water splitting — a promising method for producing green hydrogen fuel.

What the research aimed to do

The goal was to find a better way to convert sunlight into energy by improving the material used in photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is widely used for this because it reacts well with sunlight — but traditional TiO₂ layers don’t always perform efficiently.

To address this, the researchers created a new nanosponge structure — a porous, sponge-like surface made from TiO₂ that has much more surface area than a flat layer. This allows it to capture more sunlight and generate a stronger photocurrent (a measure of solar activity).

How Advent Research Materials was involved

The team used 99.6% pure titanium foils (0.1 mm thick) sourced from Advent Research Materials to create the nanosponge layers. These foils were anodized — a controlled electrochemical process — to form thin TiO₂ sponges between 0.5 and 4 microns thick.

Key findings

The results showed just how effective the nanosponge structure could be when it comes to improving solar water splitting.

• The TiO₂ nanosponges produced more photocurrent than compact TiO₂ layers, especially when sunlight was simulated.
• A 500 nm thick sponge offered the best performance — delivering a strong response without being too thick to cause recombination losses.
• Adding methanol to the testing solution further improved results, by helping the system capture and transport energy more efficiently.

Future Applications

The findings have promising implications for solar-driven water splitting and other photoelectrochemical applications.

By improving light absorption and charge carrier mobility, TiO₂ nanosponges—enabled by Advent’s titanium materials—help push the efficiency of photocatalytic systems closer to commercial viability for scalable, green hydrogen production.

Reference

Sánchez-Tovar, R., Lee, K., García-Antón, J., & Schmuki, P. (2013). Photoelectrochemical Properties of Anodic TiO₂ Nanosponge Layers. ECS Electrochemistry Letters, 2(3), H9–H11.  https://doi.org/10.1149/2.005303eel