Photocatalytic hydrogen production in a UV-irradiated fluidized bed reactor

摘要

Since the discovery of photocatalytic watersplitting over titanium dioxide (TiO_2), researchers have typically only employed immobilized-film and suspended slurry photocatalysts. Here we present watersplitting in a UV-irradiated fluidized bed reactor with a novel, fluidizable watersplitting photocatalyst. This approach was taken to address the mass-transfer effects, poor radiation distribution, parasitic back-reaction and photocatalyst handling difficulties that limit the efficiency and scalability of existing watersplitting systems. Using a 2.2M Na_2CO_3 solution, significant hydrogen production rates were achieved. A marked increase in the hydrogen production rate was observed when compared to results obtained by a suspended slurry TiO_2 photocatalyst in the same reactor.