Hydrogen, Photocatalysis, Heterojunction Photocatalysts, Copper Oxides, Thermal Oxidation, Photocatalytic Reactor.

The current energetic scenario calls into question the inordinate use of fossil fuel energy sources. In the face of solid studies proving the relationship between the use of these energy sources and the increase of greenhouse gas emissions and the consequent aggravation of this phenomenon, together with the non-renewable character of these fuels, many researchers have been dedicated to the development of cleaner energy sources with the main characteristic of being renewable. Within this theme, Hydrogen gas presents itself as a strong candidate in the replacement of fossil fuels mainly in transport and industrial applications. One of the most studied routes to obtain this fuel is the heterogeneous photocatalysis of water splitting in view of its strong sustainable appeal by using of the abundant solar energy source and a practically inexhaustible raw material (H2O). However, the major challenge today is to obtain materials that are both effective as photocatalysts within the absorption range of the solar photons as well as cheap and easy to manufacture for large scale applications. Therefore, the present work will be devoted to the development of fixed photocatalysts in a heterogeneous configuration based on copper oxides (Cu2O / CuO) obtained from thermal oxidation process in commercial metallic copper foil in view of the practicality of the process and the availability/cost of the material chosen as relevant for large-scale applications. The synthetized material will be characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy and Atomic Force (SEM-AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis spectrophotometry, Raman spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analyzes. The effectiveness of the material will be attested in the process of photocatalysis for water splitting using a continuous flow reactor in channel format with fixed photocatalysts in film.