2020 年 63 巻 9 号 p. 476-481
Photocatalytic steam-methane reforming is an attractive chemical technology for hydrogen production from abundant resources of methane and water. In the case of photocatalytic reaction, photo-generated electron plays key roles in hydrogen production. However, the dynamics of photogenerated electrons under reaction condition have been unclear. To uncover the behavior of reactive photo-excited electrons, we conducted operando FT-IR spectroscopy of metal loaded Ga2O3 photocatalysts under irradiation of intensity modulated UV light. We succeeded in observing a correlation between the reaction activity and a broad mid-infrared absorption band derived from the photo-generated electrons shallowly trapped at the photocatalyst surfaces.