Photocatalytic hydrogen production using liquid phase plasma from ammonia water over metal ion-doped TiO2 photocatalysts

Ammonia can be applied as a hydrogen carrier and used directly as a hydrogen production supply. In this paper, a technique for mass-producing hydrogen from ammonia water is proposed by applying a liquid phase plasma (LPP) discharge technique and a photocatalyst. In this reaction, N- and Fe ion codoped TiO2 (N/Fe/TiO2) photocatalysts were prepared and applied as a visible light-sensitive photocatalyst. N/Fe/TiO2 (NFT) had a similar crystal shape and size to anatase TiO2, but the surface was doped with metal ions. The bandgap of the NFT photocatalyst obtained from the spectrum measured by photoluminescence spectroscopy was approximately 2.4 eV. Nitrogen and Fe ions played a role in narrowing the gap between the conduction band (CB) and valence band (VB) of TiO2, effectively reducing the bandgap. In the decomposition reaction of ammonia water by LPP irradiation, the NFT photocatalyst showed the highest hydrogen evolution rate. The amount of hydrogen produced from ammonia water by LPP irradiation on the NFT photocatalyst was approximately 133 L/h. The hydrogen production rate obtained from ammonia water by the photocatalyst and LPP irradiation was significantly higher than that obtained by the ammonia electrolysis process.