Photocatalytic H2 production from acetic acid solution over CuO/SnO2 nanocomposites under UV irradiation

The CuO/SnO2 composites have been prepared by the simple co-precipitation method and further characterized by the XRD, FESEM and Raman spectroscopy. The photocatalytic H-2 production from acetic acid (HAc) solution over CuO/SnO2 photocatalyst has been investigated at room temperature under UV irradiation. Effects of CuO loading, photocatalyst concentration, acetic acid concentration and pH on H-2 production have been systematically studied. Compared with pure SnO2, the 33.3 mol%CuO/5nO(2) composite exhibited approximately twentyfold enhancement of H-2 production. The H-2 yield is about 0.66 molH(2)/mol-HAc obtained under irradiation for prolonged time. The Langmuir-type model is applied to study the dependence of hydrogen production rate on HAc concentration. A possible mechanism for photocatalytic degradation of acetic acid over CuO/SnO2 photocatalyst is proposed as well. Our results provide a method for pollutants removal with simultaneous hydrogen generation. Due to simple preparation, high H-2 production activity and low cost, the CuO/SnO2 photocatalyst will find wide application in the coming future of hydrogen economy. (C) 2010 Professor T. Nejat Veziroglu. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.