Photo/electro catalytic green hydrogen production promoted by Ga modified Co0.6Cu0.4Fe2O4 nano catalysts

Pinki Kotwal; Rohit Jasrotia; Anant Vidya Nidhi; Jahangeer Ahmed; Sanchit Thakur; Abhishek Kandwal; Mohd Fazil; Saad M Alshehri; Tokeer Ahmad; Ankit Verma; Naresh Sharma; Rajesh Kumar

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2023.117669

Photo/electro catalytic green hydrogen production promoted by Ga modified Co_0.6Cu_0.4Fe₂O₄ nano catalysts

Environ Res. 2024 Jan 15:241:117669. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117669. Epub 2023 Nov 20.

Authors

Pinki Kotwal¹, Rohit Jasrotia², Anant Vidya Nidhi³, Jahangeer Ahmed⁴, Sanchit Thakur⁵, Abhishek Kandwal⁶, Mohd Fazil⁷, Saad M Alshehri⁴, Tokeer Ahmad⁷, Ankit Verma⁸, Naresh Sharma⁹, Rajesh Kumar¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ School of Physics and Materials Science, Shoolini University, Bajhol, Solan, H.P., India; Govt. MAM College, Jammu, India.
² School of Physics and Materials Science, Shoolini University, Bajhol, Solan, H.P., India; Himalayan Centre of Excellence in Nanotechnology, Shoolini University, Bajhol, Solan, H.P., India. Electronic address: rohitsinghjasrotia4444@gmail.com.
³ Department of Physics, Govt. Degree College (Solan), H.P., India.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ M.S. Swaminathan School of Agriculture, Shoolini University, Solan, H.P, 173229, India.
⁶ School of Physics and Materials Science, Shoolini University, Bajhol, Solan, H.P., India; Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.
⁷ Nanochemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, 110025, India.
⁸ Faculty of Science and Technology, ICFAI University, Baddi, H.P., India.
⁹ Govt. Degree College for Women, Kathua, J & K, India.
¹⁰ Department of Physics, Faculty of Physical Sciences, Sardar Patel University, Mandi, HP, 175001, India. Electronic address: rajesh.shoolini@gmail.com.

PMID: 37980993
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117669

Abstract

The current work concentrates on the fabrication of Ga doped Co_0.6Cu_0.4Fe₂O₄ nanocatalysts via sol-gel auto-combustion (SGA) for the production of green and sustainable source of energy i.e., hydrogen through photocatalytic and electrocatalytic routes. Single-phased cubic crystal structure with Fd3m geometry was observed through XRD patterns. FESEM images show the aggregated and spherical shaped grains with distinct grain boundaries and average grain size of 1.04 and 1.39 μm for the Co_0.6Cu_0.4Fe₂O₄, and Co_0.6Cu_0.4Ga_0.02Fe_1.98O₄ nanomaterials. Soft magnetic behaviour with a coercivity (H_c) and saturation magnetization (M_s) of 235.32-357.26 Oe and 54.65-61.11 emu/g was obtained for the produced nanomaterials. The estimation of photocatalytic nature for generating H₂ was conducted using the sacrificial agents i.e., 0.128 M Na₂S and 0.079 M Na₂SO₃. The analysis focused on measuring the maximum H₂ generation was achieved by photocatalysts throughout three consecutive 4-h cycles. Out of all compositions, Co_0.6Cu_0.4Ga_0.02Fe_1.98O₄ nanomaterial have the highest photocatalytic activity of 16.71 mmol g_cat^-1. However, the electrocatalytic behaviour of prepared Co_0.6Cu_0.4Ga_xFe_2-xO₄ (x = 0.00-0.03) electrocatalysts were determined for HER (Hydrogen evolution reaction) reaction. The overpotential values of Co_0.6Cu_0.4Fe₂O₄, Co_0.6Cu_0.4Ga_0.01Fe_1.99O₄, Co_0.6Cu_0.4Ga_0.02Fe_1.98O₄, and Co_0.6Cu_0.4Ga_0.03Fe_1.97O₄ catalysts at 10 mA cm^-2 were -0.81, -0.85, -1.03, and 1.21 V, correspondingly. Thus, at cathode current density of 10 mA/cm^-2, an elevation in overpotential was noted, which indicates that the undoped Co_0.6Cu_0.4Fe₂O₄ (x = 0.00) electrocatalyst have remarkable electrocatalytic HER activity. Consequently, owing to photo/electro catalytic water splitting traits, the prepared catalysts are highly efficient for the green hydrogen generation.

Keywords: Co(0.6)Cu(0.4)Fe(2)O(4) nanomaterials; Gallium doping; Hydrogen production; Magnetic catalysts; Photocatalytic/electrocatalytic water splitting.

MeSH terms

Catalysis
Electrodes
Hydrogen*
Nanostructures*
Phenotype

Substances

Hydrogen