Water photolysis with copper(I) chloride
Abstract
A deaerated suspension of copper(I) chloride in dilute HCl has been found to photogenerate H2 efficiently when irradiated with u.v. light, oxidising itself into copper(II) chloride. Aqueous copper(II) chloride can be photoreduced to copper(I) chloride using SrTiO3, TiO2 or WO3, oxidising water concomitantly. The practical limitations of such a system are discussed.