LIGHT-INDUCED HYDROGEN AND OXYGEN GENERATION FROM WATER

A vesicle-stabilized colloidal mercury sulfide or cadmium sulfide part icle with Rh particles on its surface and metaborate outside the vesic le has been prepared. Hydrogen and oxygen have been produced from phot olysis of water utilizing the vesicle-stabilized colloidal mercury sul fide or cadmium sulfide particle system. The observation of mass peaks O-18, and O-16 = O-18 from the vesicle-stabilized system with (H2O)-O -18 instead of water indicated that the oxygen is produced from water. Hydrogen is produced by a reduction reaction of water on a Rh catalys t holding a negative charge that is injected from the conduction band of mercury sulfide or cadmium sulfide colloidal particles, and oxygen is produced via peroxoborate that is formed from the reaction of hydro gen peroxide with sodium berate. Hydrogen peroxide has been detected w ith ferrous chloride in the vesicle system.