Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production in a UV-irradiated Fluidized Bed Reactor

Since the discovery of photocatalytic watersplitting over titanium dioxide (TiO2), 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 2.2 M Na2CO3 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 TiO2 photocatalyst in the same reactor.