Photocatalytic hydrogen production from aqueous methanol solution with CuO/Al2O3/TiO2 nanocomposite

The photocatalytic hydrogen production from aqueous methanol solution was investigated with ZnO/TiO2, SnO/TiO2, CuO/TiO2, Al2O3/TiO2 and CuO/Al2O3/TiO2 nanocomposites. A mechanical mixing method, followed by the solid-state reaction at elevated temperature, was used for the preparation of nanocomposite photocatalyst. Among these nanocomposite photocatalysts, the maximal photocatalytic hydrogen production was observed with CuO/Al2O3/TiO2 nanocomposites. A variety of components of CuO/Al2O3/TiO2 photocatalysts were tested for the enhancement of H2 formation. The optimal component was 0.2 wt% CuO/0.3 wt% Al2O3/TiO2. The activity exhibited approximately tenfold enhancement at the optimum loading, compared with that with pure P-25 TiO2. Nano-sized TiO2 photocatalytic hydrogen technology has great potential for low-cost, environmentally friendly solar-hydrogen production to support the future hydrogen economy.