Photoelectrocatalytic hydrogen production using nitrogen containing water soluble wastes

Abstract

Hydrogen has been produced by photoelectrocatalytic degradation of model nitrogen-containing water soluble wastes urea, formamide and aqueous ammonia. Hydrogen production was monitored in a simple reactor using a “Photoelectrocatalytic Leaf” as functional component, i.e. an FTO electrode bearing both photocatalyst and electrocatalyst, which allows for a very simple but effective configuration. Nanoparticulate titania was used as photocatalyst while a combination of commercial carbon paste with dispersed Pt nanoparticles was used as electrocatalyst. Urea produced the largest quantity of hydrogen, which could be accelerated by application of an external electric bias. Current-voltage measurements provided an indication of current-doubling in the case of formamide.