Ce (III) species supported zeolites as novel photocatalysts for hydrogen production from water

Cerium (0.3–3.2 wt.%) modified MCM-41, Al-MCM-41, HZSM-5 and HY systems were prepared by impregnation method. These catalysts were characterized by XRD, DRS and XPS techniques. DRS clearly shows a blue shift of 50 nm in the absorption edge of CeO2 at low loadings of Ce on zeolites indicating the size quantization and high dispersion of cerium particles. XPS analyses of samples containing low cerium content revealed the existence of strong interaction between zeolites and cerium wherein most of the cerium is in Ce3+ state. Photoactivity of these Ce-modified zeolite catalysts was evaluated in the photogeneration of hydrogen from water under UV irradiation. Among the catalysts prepared Ce-MCM-41 was found to be a promising photocatalyst for hydrogen production from water.