Hydrogen Production System by Light-Induced α-FeOOH Coupled with Photoreduction

Tetsuya Yamada; Norihiro Suzuki; Kazuya Nakata; Chiaki Terashima; Nobuhiro Matsushita; Kiyoshi Okada; Akira Fujishima; Ken-Ichi Katsumata

doi:10.1002/chem.201903642

Hydrogen Production System by Light-Induced α-FeOOH Coupled with Photoreduction

Chemistry. 2020 Feb 21;26(11):2380-2385. doi: 10.1002/chem.201903642. Epub 2020 Jan 22.

Authors

Tetsuya Yamada¹, Norihiro Suzuki², Kazuya Nakata^{2

3}, Chiaki Terashima², Nobuhiro Matsushita¹, Kiyoshi Okada⁴, Akira Fujishima², Ken-Ichi Katsumata^{2

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Materials and Chemical Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan.
² Photocatalysis International Research Center, Research Institute for Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki, Noda, Chiba, 278-8510, Japan.
³ Graduate School of Bio-Applications and Systems Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Nakacho, Koganei, Tokyo, 184-0012, Japan.
⁴ Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan.
⁵ Department of Materials Science and Technology, Faculty of Industrial Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 6-3-1 Niijuku, Katsushika-ku, Tokyo, 125-8585, Japan.

PMID: 31702078
DOI: 10.1002/chem.201903642

Abstract

Solar-driven catalysts on semiconductors to produce hydrogen are considered as a means to solve environmental issues. In this study, H₂ production coupling with oxygen consumption by noble metal-free α-FeOOH was demonstrated even though the conduction band edge was lower than the reduction potential of H⁺ to H₂ . For activation of α-FeOOH, an electron donor, Hg-Xe irradiation, and low pH (ca. 5) were indispensable factors. The H₂ production from H₂ O was confirmed by GC-MS using isotope-labeled water (D₂ O) and deuterated methanol. The α-FeOOH synthesized by coprecipitation method showed 25 times more active than TiO₂ . The photocatalytic activity was stable for over 400 h. Our study suggests that α-FeOOH known as rust can produce H₂ by light induction.

Keywords: hydrogen; iron; photocatalysis; photoreduction; sustainable chemistry.

Abstract

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