Biomass derivatives photoreforming in pilot plant scale to obtain H2 under green conditions by using ball milling Cu2O-TiO2 P25 photocatalysts

Abstract

In this work the photocatalytic activity of Cu2O-TiO2 (P25) composites prepared by a facile ball milling method, was evaluated for solar-to-hydrogen (STH) conversion in real conditions in a pilot plant scale reactor. Samples containing various Cu2O amounts were obtained under different experimental conditions (ball milling time and rotation speed) to optimize the synthesis parameters and characterized by X-ray diffraction, Electron Paramagnetic Resonance, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, BET specific surface area measurements and diffuse reflectance, Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The composites obtained by ball milling displayed higher activity than bare TiO2 being Cu2O effective in replacing noble metals for H2 production and glycerol, ethanol and glucose were used as examples of biomass derivatives. The best results were obtained by using glycerol as sacrificial agent and the sample 3%Cu2O-P25@150 rpm & 2 h as photocatalyst (solar-to-hydrogen, STH, conversion 1.71 %). To prove the effectiveness of the ball milling method, a 3%Cu2O-P25 sample was prepared simply by hand mixing and showed to be much less efficient.