To provide a hydrogen production apparatus, a hydrogen production method and a hydrogen production system in which an oxidation-reduction reaction of water by a photocatalyst is efficiently carried out.
The hydrogen production apparatus is provided with the visible ray-responsible photocatalyst to be in contact with water or a sacrificial reagent-containing aqueous solution and a visible light source for irradiating the photocatalyst with 380-500 nm visible ray, and the oxidation-reduction reaction of water is carried out to produce hydrogen. The visible ray-responsible photocatalyst supports a co-catalyst such as Pt, NiO, RuO2 and IrO2. The visible ray-responsible photocatalyst supports a fine particle exhibiting Au plasmon absorption or a fine particle exhibiting Ag plasmon absorption. Hydrogen is produced by using the hydrogen production apparatus, bringing water or the sacrificial reagent-containing aqueous solution into contact with the visible ray-responsible photocatalyst and irradiating the photocatalyst with the visible ray emitted from the visible light source. The hydrogen production system is provided with a means for supplying water or the sacrificial reagent-containing aqueous solution to the hydrogen production apparatus and a control means for controlling the production of hydrogen.