C/N/CeO2/Alpha-Fe2O3 Doped Mesoporous Carbon as A Photocatalyst Material for Hydrogen Gas Production by Water Splitting Method

Abstract

This study focuses on hydrogen production through a water-splitting photocatalytic reaction using solar energy and an additional semiconductor material C/N/CeO2/α-Fe2O3 as a photocatalyst. The semiconductor material C/N/CeO2/α-Fe2O3 underwent thorough characterization via FTIR, FESEM-EDX, XRD, N2 adsorption-desorption, and UV-Vis-DRS analysis. Subsequently, photocatalytic activity tests were conducted to measure hydrogen production levels for varying weight percentages of C/N/CeO2/α-Fe2O3, including 0%, 10%, and 15 mass% of the C/N component. Results showed that the material with 0% variation produced 2.21 μmol/gram of hydrogen gas (1 hour) and 17.58 μmol/gram (after 3 hours), while the 10% variation yielded 4.52 μmol/gram (1 hour) and 19.08 μmol/gram (after 3 hours). These findings suggest that the C/N/CeO2/α-Fe2O3 material containing 10% C/N may offer the most optimal performance as a photocatalyst for hydrogen production.