Achieving photocatalytic hydrogen production from alkaline solution upon a designed mesoporous TiO2-Ni hybrid employing commonly used paper as a sacrificial electron donor

Authors

Yi Wei, Wuhan Institute of Technology
Jinyan Xiong, Wuhan Textile UniversityFollow
Weijie Li, University of WollongongFollow
Ravichandran Kollarigowda, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Gang Cheng, Wuhan Institute of Technology

RIS ID

131722

Publication Details

Wei, Y., Xiong, J., Li, W., Kollarigowda, R. H. & Cheng, G. (2018). Achieving photocatalytic hydrogen production from alkaline solution upon a designed mesoporous TiO2-Ni hybrid employing commonly used paper as a sacrificial electron donor. Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers, 5 (11), 2709-2717.

Abstract

Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from water splitting, using paper as an electron donor, was achieved upon the use of a hybrid photocatalyst of mesoporous TiO2 decorated with Ni nanoparticles. Through the involvement of a Ni cocatalyst, the separation and migration of photo-generated electrons in TiO2-Ni hybrids were significantly enhanced. The soluble paper in alkaline solution played the role of a sacrificial electron donor by reacting with hydroxyl radicals generated from hole oxidation with OH−. These findings provide an inexpensive route to drive aqueous proton reduction to hydrogen through waste biomass oxidation.

Grant Number

ARC/DE180101478