Abstract
Photocatalytic activities of ruthenium disulfide (RuS 2) non-supported, SiO 2 and TiO 2-supported semiconductor photocatalysts for hydrogen and oxygen formation from water were studied. Hydrogen and oxygen were produced, respectively, over SiO 2-supported RuS 2 (band gap: 2.3 eV) catalysts under UV light (>300 nm) and visible light (>400 nm) irradiation in the presence of a sacrificial electron donor and acceptor. Photocatalytic activities for hydrogen and oxygen formation increased remarkably due to support on SiO 2. Under UV light irradiation for 46 h, 213 μmol of hydrogen, which is nine times the amount of RuS 2 supported, was produced on 1 wt.% RuS 2/SiO 2 in the Na 2S/Na 2SO 3 solution. The oxygen yield for 26 h in an AgNO 3 solution was 121 μmol. Photocatalytic activity for oxygen formation under visible light irradiation was almost the same as that under UV irradiation. No enhancement effect of gas evolution by Pt catalyst loading was observed. Remarkable enhancements of photocatalytic activity for hydrogen and oxygen formation due to support on TiO 2 were also observed, suggesting the presence of a charge transfer process between two semiconductor particles.
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