Hydrogen production and ZnO/Zn hybrid nanostructure preparation through a water-splitting reaction

Firstly, the Zn-nanoparticles were prepared by vibration mill, then water vapour was carried in by Ar while they had been preheated. Once the water vapour contacted with Zn-nanoparticles, water-splitting reaction started, hydrogen yielded and solid zinc oxide nanostructures were gained. The hydrogen yield rate was tested, and the solid product by XRD, EDS and TEM. It's proved that the Zn-nanoparticles with an average size of 45nm after 11 hours milling acted well when they contacted with water vapor carried by 5L/min Ar flow under temperature of 275°C, and the hydrogen yield rate could reach to a high level of 184.4ml/min in 20 minutes. The result of XRD and EDS shows there are both ZnO and Zn existing in solid product, and the TEM showed it had a great dispersivity featuring nano-rods hybrided with nano-flakes. This ZnO/Zn hybrid nanostructure has been proved to have great photocatalytic performance in the decomposition of dye wastewater.