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Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation from pH-Neutral Water by a Flexible Tri-Component Composite

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Abstract

In this work we examine the benefits of using carefully designed tri-component composites to fabricate flexible photocathode electrodes for photo-electrocatalytic hydrogen (H2) generation from neutral pH water. We report H2 production by a tri-component composite thin-film containing CuO nanowires (CuO NW), reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and polypyrrole (PPy). At − 1.1 V vs Ag/AgCl in 0.5 M Na2SO4 (pH 6.8) with a hole-scavenger, under weak light illumination, he photocurrent performance was fivefold greater than the bi-component CuO–rGO control having the same absolute quantities of CuO and rGO. It was 30-fold greater than the CuO–PPy control. The tri-component CuO–rGO–PPy thin film therefore displayed an active H2-generating capacity compare with its bi-component analogues. It, effectively, exploited the advantages of each component, including the suppression of charge recombination afforded by the rGO, and the photocorrosion protection, immobilization and flexibility afforded by the PPy, whilst avoiding their disadvantages.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by, and the authors acknowledge the services provided by the Iraq Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. The authors acknowledge the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF) Materials Node for equipment use. Support from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence Scheme (Project Number CE140100012) is gratefully acknowledged. The authors acknowledge use of facilities and the assistance of Tony Romeo within the University of Wollongong Electron Microscopy Centre. This research used equipment funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC)—Linkage, Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities (LIEF) Grant LE160100063 located at the University of Wollongong Electron Microscopy Centre.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials Research Center, University of Technology, Baghdad, 10066, Iraq

    R. Mahdi & Amar Al-Keisy

  2. Department of Basic Education, University of Mosul, Mosul, 41002, Iraq

    Mohammed Alsultan

  3. Intelligent Polymer Research Institute and ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia

    Mohammed Alsultan, Amar Al-Keisy & Gerhard F. Swiegers

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  1. R. Mahdi
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  2. Mohammed Alsultan
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  3. Amar Al-Keisy
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  4. Gerhard F. Swiegers
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Correspondence to Mohammed Alsultan or Amar Al-Keisy.

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Mahdi, R., Alsultan, M., Al-Keisy, A. et al. Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation from pH-Neutral Water by a Flexible Tri-Component Composite. Catal Lett 151, 1700–1706 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10562-020-03427-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10562-020-03427-1

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