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Updated: Jan 4, 2026

Experimental Methods for Efficient Solar Hydrogen Production in Microgravity Environment
Published on: December 3, 2019
Hydrogen Production System by Light-Induced α-FeOOH Coupled with Photoreduction
Tetsuya Yamada1, Norihiro Suzuki2, Kazuya Nakata2,3
1Department of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Materials and Chemical Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan.
Abstract:
Solar-driven catalysts on semiconductors to produce hydrogen are considered as a means to solve environmental issues. In this study, H2 production coupling with oxygen consumption by noble metal-free α-FeOOH was demonstrated even though the conduction band edge was lower than the reduction potential of H+ to H2 . For activation of α-FeOOH, an electron donor, Hg-Xe irradiation, and low pH (ca. 5) were indispensable factors. The H2 production from H2 O was confirmed by GC-MS using isotope-labeled water (D2 O) and deuterated methanol. The α-FeOOH synthesized by coprecipitation method showed 25 times more active than TiO2 . The photocatalytic activity was stable for over 400 h. Our study suggests that α-FeOOH known as rust can produce H2 by light induction.
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