Photocatalytic hydrogen production from aqueous methanol solution using titanium dioxide with the aid of simultaneous metal deposition.

The photocatalytic hydrogen generation from aqueous methanol solution using TiO2photocatalyst was investigated with the aid of simultaneous metal deposition. The photocatalytic hydrogen evolution with pure TiO2was very small. The simultaneous deposition for various metals was therefore evaluated. As a result, the additions of Au and Cu ions were effective for the improvement of photocatalytic hydrogen production. Methanol concentration and metal ion concentration were optimized for the system. The optimal methanol concentrations were 90 and 80 vol% in the case of addition of Au and Cu ions, respectively. Under the optimal conditions, the photocatalytic hydrogen production using TiO2photocatalyst with the aid of simultaneous Cu and Au deposition were approximately 25 and 120 times larger than those obtained with bare TiO2. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]