Exploring the photocatalytic hydrogen production potential of titania doped with alumina derived from foil waste

Ahmed I. Osman *, Nathan C. Skillen, Peter K. J. Robertson, David W. Rooney, Kevin Morgan*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

51 Citations (Scopus)
181 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The multifunctional potential of a catalyst previously synthesised for thermal processes is explored by investigating its activity for photocatalytic production of H2 from glycerol, a by-product from the manufacture of bio-diesel. The studied catalyst contains TiO2 doped with Al2O3 that was derived from aluminum foil waste. This catalyst showed higher photocatalytic activity than the analogous catalyst prepared with a commercial Al2O3. Pt and Pd act as electron traps while the Al2O3 demonstrated a promotional effect, partially through proton donation. Under optimum conditions, a steady-state of 4.2 mmol H2 gTiO2−1 hr−1 was produced, which is comparable to the 4.7 mmol H2 gTiO2−1 hr−1 obtained with Pt–TiO2, which is a standard photocatalytic material. It should be noted that the reported Pt/Pd/TiO2-ANFL catalyst has not yet been optimised and so this result is encouraging. It is hoped that these findings can inspire more sustainable and less expensive hydrogen production, including from biomass feedstocks such as glycerol.
Original languageEnglish
JournalInternational Journal of Hydrogen Energy
Early online date11 Mar 2020
DOIs
Publication statusEarly online date - 11 Mar 2020

Keywords

  • Hydrogen production
  • Glycerol
  • aluminium foil waste
  • Photocatalysis

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