Effect of graphite silica on TiO2 photocatalysis in hydrogen production from water–methanol solution
Miyuki Ikedaa, Yoshihumi Kusumoto, a, , Shouichi Somekawaa, Pascaline Ngweniforma and Bashir Ahmmada
aDepartment of Chemistry and Bioscience, Faculty of Science, Kagoshima University, 1-21-35 Korimoto, Kagoshima 890-0065, Japan
Received 14 December 2005; revised 12 March 2006; accepted 29 April 2006. Available online 7 May 2006.
Abstract
The photocatalytic production of hydrogen gas from water–methanol mixtures was performed in contact with a suspended mixture of powdered titanium dioxide (TiO2) and graphite silica (GS), a naturally available mineral. A drastic synergy effect for hydrogen production was found for GS in collaboration with TiO2. The amount of hydrogen gas evolved from water–methanol mixtures was increased by a factor of ca. 100 simply by mixing GS with TiO2. The synergy effect is attributed to the enrichment of hydrogen ions in the clay components of GS and aggregation of GS and TiO2 particles.
