Hydrogen Generation by Laser Irradiation of Carbon Powder in Water

Abstract

We report the photochemical activity of carbon powder in the generation of hydrogen from water by laser irradiation, without any electrodes and photocatalysts. The gas was obtained by laser irradiation in the VIS-NIR range and was dependent nonlinearly on the laser power density. From a gas component analysis and a repeated irradiation experiment, it was found that the carbon powder was oxidized and acted as a sacrificial reagent in the photochemical hydrogen generation. In addition, a highly carbonized charcoal, known as Bincho-tan, was found to effectively work for the hydrogen generation.