Reorganization of a photosensitive carbo-benzene layer in a triptych nanocatalyst with enhancement of the photocatalytic hydrogen production from water

• Published in: International journal of hydrogen energy Vol. 45; no. 46; pp. 24765 - 24778
• Main Authors: Assi, Hala, Cocq, Kévin, Cure, Jérémy, Casterou, Gérald, Castello Lux, Kévin, Collière, Vincent, Vendier, Laure, Fau, Pierre, Maraval, Valérie, Fajerwerg, Katia, Chabal, Yves J., Chauvin, Remi, Kahn, Myrtil L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 21-09-2020; Elsevier
• Subjects: Carbo-benzene dye; Chemical Sciences; Coordination chemistry; Photocatalytic hydrogen production; Reorganization; Silver nanoparticles; Titanium dioxide nanoparticles; Triptych material; Photocatalytic hydrogen production; Titanium dioxide nanoparticles; Carbo-benzene dye; Silver nanoparticles; Triptych material; Reorganization
• ISSN: 0360-3199; 1879-3487
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2020.06.255

The preparation of a triptych nanomaterial made of TiO2 nanoparticles as semiconductor, Ag plasmonic nanoparticles and a carbo-benzene macrocyclic molecule as photosensitizer is described, and used to produce hydrogen by photo-reduction of pure deionized water under 2.2 bar argon pressure without any electrical input. Silver nanoparticles (~5 nm) are grafted onto the surface of commercial TiO2 nanoparticles (~23 nm) by a photo-deposition process using an original silver amidinate precursor. The thickness of the photosensitive layer (2 nm), which completes the assembly, plays a crucial role in the efficiency and robustness of the triptych nanocatalyst. Thanks to the organic layer reorganization during the first ~24 h of irradiation, it leads to an enhancement of the hydrogen production rate up to 5 times. The amount of silver and carbo-benzene are optimized, along with the mass concentration of nanocatalyst in water and the pH of the aqueous medium, to allow reaching a hydrogen production rate of 22.1 μmol·h−1·gphotocatalyst−1.
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•Triptych nanocatalyst TiO2/Cbz2%/Ag3% for green photocatalytic hydrogen production.•Reorganization of the photosensitive layer during UV–visible irradiation.•The hydrogen production rate is increased by 5 time after reorganization.•H2 production rate of 22.1 μmol·h−1·g−1 under 2.2 bar argon gas in pure water.•Original and valuable data for benchmarking purposes are provided.