Preparation of by Spray Pyrolysis and Evaluation of Apparent Photocatalytic Activity for Hydrogen Production from Water

NaTaO3 photocatalyst was prepared by spray pyrolysis process and tested as photocatalyst for water splitting under UV light. Precursor solution was prepared from NaNO3 and Ta(OC2H5)5 in nitric acid solution and spray-pyrolyzed in air at between 973 and 1273 K. Considerable enhancement of photocatalytic activity was achieved by loading 0.05～0.2 wt% of NiO on the surface of NaTaO3. The NiO loading was more effective on the NaTaO3 synthesized by spray pyrolysis in comparison with that synthesized by solid-state reaction. The quantum yield (QY) of NiO/NaTaO3 photocatalyst was measured by chemical actinometry using potassium ferrioxalate and compared with the apparent photocatalytic activities (APA) which would be more useful for the purpose of photocatalytic reactor design than the quantum yield. The apparent photocatalytic activity (APA) was defined by the rate of hydrogen production divided by weight of catalyst, volume of reactant mixture, duration of irradiation, and power of UV lamp. The validity of the apparent photocatalytic activity (APA) was discussed based on our results and reported activities of NaTaO3 photocatalyst loaded with or without NiO.