Photocatalytic-thermal water splitting

The concept of using solar energy to drive the conversion of water into hydrogen and oxygen has been examined in this work. One of the primary objectives of this work is to study the impact of thermal energy on the effectiveness of photocatalytic water splitting rate. Two types of photocatalyts, Ga₂O₃-Zn and TiO₂-Pt, were employed for this present study. The effects of several process parameters on the photocatalytic production of hydrogen were also investigated. The parameters are, namely, the different variants of TiO₂ catalysts, the pH levels of the water solution, the concentration of methanol in the solution, the photocatalyst processing method and the catalytic reaction temperature. Reaction temperatures, spanning 48 to 96.5°C, were controlled via the introduction of the appropriate level of thermal energy. Key results showed that higher pH levels and alcoholic content of the water positively impact the production of hydrogen. Additionally, both photocatalysts, Ga₂O₃-Zn and TiO₂-Pt, demonstrated positive impact on the overall water splitting reaction with increased reaction temperature. It was further shown that the water splitting rates increased monotonically with higher reaction temperature in the tested range of 56 to 88.5 °C, and 48 to 96.5 °C for the respective photocatalysts, Ga₂O₃-Zn and TiO₂-Pt.