Abstract—Hydrogen gas has been shown to photocatalytically generated from pure water. With saltwater comprising 93% of the earth’s water reservoir, methods to produce hydrogen from seawater minus the expensive water purification are desired. Cd
0.8Zn
0.2S has been proven as an effective photocatalyst for hydrogen production but it remains to be tested in seawater. This study provides proof of concept for hydrogen production from seawater using fresh and reused Cd
0.8Zn
0.2S upon irradiation with visible light and with the addition of sulfide/sulfite as sacrificial agents. The post-usage characteristics of Cd
0.8Zn
0.2S catalyst were investigated using SEM and FTIR. The rate of hydrogen gas production from seawater was up to six times faster than in distilled and simulated seawater for both fresh and reused catalyst. Reused catalyst showed reduced rates of gas accumulation. Catalysts exposed to non-distilled water showed marked changes in their SEM appearance and their spectral transmittance.
Index Terms—Hydrogen production, photocatalyst, seawater, visible light.
Estelle Diane D. Jose was with the Fuels, Energy and Thermal Systems Laboratory at the Chemical Engineering Department, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines 1101. She is now with Unilever Philippines, 7th Floor Bonifacio Stopover Corporate Center, 31st Street Cor. 2nd Avenue, Bonifacio Global City Fort Bonifacio 1634 (e-mail: estellediane.jose@gmail.com).
Ernest Nathan L. Nogales and Ann Elizabeth P. Rollon were with the Fuels, Energy and Thermal Systems Laboratory at the Chemical Engineering Department, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines 1101. He is now with Petron Bataan Refinery, Limay, Bataan, Philippines (e-mail: nathan_nogales@yahoo.com.ph, eliserollon@gmail.com).
Joseph Yap IV was with the Fuels, Energy and Thermal Systems Laboratory at the Chemical Engineering Department, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines 1101. He is now with the Laboratory of Electrochemical Engineering also at the Chemical Engineering Department of the University of the Philippines, Diliman (e-mail: j4_yap032@yahoo.com).
Rizalinda L. de Leon is with the Fuels, Energy and Thermal Systems Laboratory at the Chemical Engineering Department, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines 1101 (e-mail: rldeleon@up.edu.ph).
[PDF]
Cite: Estelle Diane D. Jose, Ernest Nathan L. Nogales, Ann Elizabeth P. Rollon, Joseph Yap IV, and Rizalinda L. de Leon, "Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production from Seawater Using CdxZn1-xS," International Journal of Chemical Engineering and Applications vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 242-247, 2017.
