Researchers are hopeful that molecular hydrogen could be a sustainable energy carrier. While there are many approaches to producing industrial hydrogen, keeping these processes sustainable remains a challenge. Hydrogen photoproduction is one of these processes and is proving to be one of the more sustainable considering its use of clean and cheap resources.

Hydrogen photoproduction makes use of water and solar energy. Water molecules are split into protons and oxygen with the end goal of producing gaseous hydrogen that can be harnessed as a clean energy source. This process, however, is energetically and chemically challenging.  

Regardless, researchers continue to push this field forward in pursuit of a more sustainable future. Acceled’s benchtop instruments have contributed to hydrogen photoproduction research, keeping in line with our mission - to empower discovery.

 

Acceled’s Photoreactor m2 in Hydrogen Photoproduction Research

Hydrogen photoproduction on TiO2-CuO artificial olive leaves

TiO2-CuO solids were synthesized using olive leaves as biotemplates. SEM evidenced the successful replication of trichomes and internal channels whereas EDX observed a good dispersion of Cu and Ti atoms. XRD and Raman detected monoclinic CuO for large copper contents while XPS evidenced a strong TiO2-CuO interaction. The incorporation of copper led to hydrogen production being 84 times higher in a TiO2-CuO interaction than with bare titania.

The researchers discovered that the smaller the CuO crystallite sizes are, the better their reducibility and catalytic performance of solar light irradiation.


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Researchers using Acceled's Photoreactor M2 can now improve light intensity by 3x. This modular upgrade can speed up the photocatalytic reaction rate and experiment time. 

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Controlled photodeposition of Pt onto TiO2-g-C3N4 systems for photocatalytic hydrogen production

Platinum was photodeposited onto g-C3N4-TiO2 systems for photocatalytic hydrogen production. Altering the absorption by semiconductors appeared to influence the particle size and distribution of platinum. Visible light on g-C3N4 and UV radiation on TiO2 were utilized to obtain lower platinum particle sizes.

The researchers found that g-C3N4 synthesis on P25 TiO2 allowed for the effective formation of heterojunction after testing using triethanolamine as the sacrificial agent. They observed a 7-fold increase in activity when compared to the physical mixture of platinum-containing semiconductors and a 2-fold increase when compared to the simultaneous incorporation of platinum.


Researchers trust our powerful benchtop instruments for photocatalysis to bring them the most consistent performance on the market. Avoid complicated setups and inaccurate experiments with Acceled.

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