Hybrid photocatalytic water splitting for an expanded range of the solar spectrum with cadmium sulfide and zinc sulfide catalysts

In this paper, an experimental study of photo-catalytic water splitting with cadmium sulfide and zinc sulfide photo-catalysts is performed in a dual-cell reactor to investigate the effects of radiation intensity and photo-catalyst concentration on hydrogen and oxygen production rates. Hybridization of the photocatalytic process is examined with multi catalysts and electric potential bias to enhance the productivity of the reactor and sustain the reaction rate. The hydrogen production of 0.41 mmol h(-1) with 0.75% (v/v) ZnS is improved by almost 2 times higher than past studies due to illumination of 0.2% (v/v) CdS under 1 sun in a hybrid reactor. The productivity of the reactor is significantly enhanced at light intensities more than 1000 W m(-2). The cadmium sulfide catalyst is found to be an inefficient absorbent of light energy, but it shows higher energy and exergy efficiencies compared with ZnS photo-catalysts in a light-driven water splitting process. (c) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.