Pillaring and NiOx co-catalyst loading as alternatives for the photoactivity enhancement of K2Ti4O9 towards water splitting
| Autor: | Saulo A. Carminati, Ana Flávia Nogueira, Jefferson Bettini, Mauricio A. Melo |
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| Rok vydání: | 2018 |
| Předmět: |
Materials science
Renewable Energy Sustainability and the Environment Surface photovoltage Non-blocking I/O Energy Engineering and Power Technology chemistry.chemical_element 02 engineering and technology 010402 general chemistry 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology Solar fuel 01 natural sciences 0104 chemical sciences Catalysis Fuel Technology chemistry Chemical engineering Photocatalysis Water splitting 0210 nano-technology Platinum Photocatalytic water splitting |
| Zdroj: | Sustainable Energy & Fuels. 2:958-967 |
| ISSN: | 2398-4902 |
| DOI: | 10.1039/c7se00589j |
| Popis: | Structural improvements of efficient and abundant photocatalysts and the employment of less expensive co-catalysts are appealing routes to promote the development of economically viable solar fuel production. We herein report a significant enhancement of the H2 production from photocatalytic water splitting over K2Ti4O9 after pillaring with TiO2 pillars and loading of NiOx as a co-catalyst. The pillaring favored the charge carrier separation within the photocatalyst framework under illumination, whereas the NiOx co-catalyst, composed of nickel metal nanoparticles and nanostructured NiO, intensified the electron–hole separation at the surface. These are unprecedented results indicated by surface photovoltage spectroscopy, which was applied for the first time in this kind of photocatalyst composite. All modifications enhanced the H2 evolution from 14.9 μmol, for the pristine K2Ti4O9, to 982.0 μmol, for the final product, after 7 h of irradiation tests using methanol as a hole scavenger. This boost was also favored by the mesoporosity and high surface area created by the pillaring process. Moreover, NiOx as the co-catalyst proved to be as effective as platinum and more effective than Ag and Au in this particular system. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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