Development of Fe/Ti02 Photocatalyst via Precipitation Method for Hydrogen Production from Water

Hydrogen has been developed as the most promising energy sources to replace fossil
fuels. The most promising renewable technologies for hydrogen production is
photochemical and photocatalytic water splitting using solar energy. Pure titania (Ti02)
only absorb near-UV light which has wavelength 388 am or less. It is not economically
feasible to use UV light for hydrogen production. Doped Ti02 with metals will enhanced
the photocatalytic activity of Ti02. The main objective of this project was to develop Fe-
Ti02 photocatalyst via precipitation method to produce hydrogen from water under
visible light. This research covered preparation of iron-doped Ti02, finding the optimum
calcination temperature, characterizing the photocatalyst prepared and determining the
photocatalytic activity of Fe-Ti02 for hydrogen production from water. Fe-Ti02 was
produced using precipitation methodwith different iron loadingwhich were 0.1, 0.5 and
1.0 wt% calcined at different temperature (300°C, 400°C and 500°C) for one hour. The
photocatalytic study was performed at room temperature using a multiport
photocatalytic reactor irradiated by 500-W halogen, lamp. Characterization of the
photocatalysts was done by Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA), Diffuse Reflectance
UV-Vis (DR-UV-Vis), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM),
Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). It was found that
0.5wt% calcined at 300°C evolved the highest hydrogen from water (5.75 mL). Fe/Ti02
lowered the band gap, resulting in increasing of hydrogen production from water. The
reduction of band gap as a result of doping was estimated and the effects of the
parameters (Fe loading and calcination temperature) on photocatalytic activity are
explained.
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