Experimental Demonstration of Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production in Series with a Hydrogen Fuel Cell

In recent years, solar-powered photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen production has drawn great attention as a method to supply clean energy and reduce environmental pollution. This approach, driven by solar energy to synthesize hydrogen gas, is completely renewable and can be used to power hydrogen fuel cells to effectively solve the global energy problem, while only releasing environmentally benign water. Accordingly, popularizing this subject and educating students with the knowledge of this powerful technology are urgently needed. In this paper, Pt-loaded commercial titanium dioxide (P25) is used as the photocatalyst to explore the process of photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. A simple experimental demonstration is presented, integrating photocatalytic hydrogen production with a hydrogen fuel cell system in chemistry class. This experiment is suitable for use with undergraduate students as a systematic and basic laboratory experience or as a demonstration for primary/middle/high school students to stimulate their research interests in field of renewable energy. The principles and reaction mechanisms involved in both photocatalytic water splitting and hydrogen fuel cell operation, as well as the experimental design to link photocatalysis with fuel cells, are systematically discussed.