Hydrogen Gas Evolution from Water Included in a Silica Gel Cavity and on Metal Oxides with γ-Ray Irradiation

抄録

Hydrogen gas evolution from water induced with γ-ray irradiation of silica gels and metal oxides dispersed in water is studied by examining the hydrogen gas evolved. Hydrogen gas is detected by gas chromatography after ⁶⁰Co γ-ray irradiation of the sample solution in a closed vial at room temperature. Water adsorbed on the surface of metal oxides shows more evolution of hydrogen gas than pure water. Hydrogen gas evolution is maximized in the silica gels when the size of a silica gel cavity is about 2 nm, being on the order of spur size. The most active surface toward the decomposition of water upon γ-ray irradiation is that of SiO₂ dried at 100°C after sample preparation.