Photocatalytic hydrogen production by ternary heterojunction composites of silver nanoparticles doped FCNT-TiO2

• Published in: Journal of environmental management Vol. 286; p. 112130
• Main Authors: Reddy, N.Ramesh, Bharagav, U., Shankar, M.V., Reddy, P. Mohan, Reddy, Kakarla Raghava, Shetti, Nagaraj P., Alonso-Marroquin, Fernando, Kumari, M. Mamatha, Aminabhavi, Tejraj M., Joo, Sang Woo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 15-05-2021
• Subjects: Chemical reduction; CNTs; Hydrogen production; Photocatalysis; Silver nanoparticles; TiO2 nanoparticles; Chemical reduction; CNTs; TiO2 nanoparticles; Photocatalysis; Silver nanoparticles; Hydrogen production
• ISSN: 0301-4797; 1095-8630
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112130

Silver nanoparticles doped with FCNT-TiO2 heterogeneous catalyst was prepared via one-step chemical reduction process and their efficacy was tested for hydrogen production under solar simulator. Crystallinity, purity, optical properties, and morphologies of the catalysts were examined by X-Ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, UV–Visible diffuse reflectance spectra, and Transmission Electron Microscopy. The chemical states and interface interactions were studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The optimized catalyst showed 19.2 mmol g−1 h−1 of hydrogen production, which is 28.5 and 7 times higher than the pristine TiO2 nanoparticles and FCNT-TiO2 nanocomposite, respectively. The optimized catalyst showed stability up to 50 h under the solar simulator irradiation. The natural solar light irradiated catalyst showed ~2.2 times higher hydrogen production rate than the solar simulator irradiation. A plausible reaction mechanism of Ag NPs/FCNT-TiO2 photocatalyst was elucidated by investigating the beneficial co-catalytic role of Ag NPs and FCNTs for enhanced hydrogen production.
[Display omitted]
•Ag doped FCNT-TiO2 ternary heterojunction prepared by chemical reduction process.•Ag doped FCNT-TiO2 catalyst was showed a visible absorption.•The optimized catalyst showed 19.2 mmol g−1 h−1 of H2 production under solar simulator.•Natural solar light irradiated catalyst showed ~2.2 times higher H2 production rate than the solar simulator.