Sonochemical/hydration-dehydration synthesis of Pt-TiO2 NPs/decorated carbon nanotubes with enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production activity

Firas H Abdulrazzak; Falah H Hussein; Ayad F Alkaim; Irina Ivanova; Alexei V Emeline; Detlef W Bahnemann

doi:10.1039/c6pp00240d

Sonochemical/hydration-dehydration synthesis of Pt-TiO₂ NPs/decorated carbon nanotubes with enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production activity

Photochem Photobiol Sci. 2016 Nov 2;15(11):1347-1357. doi: 10.1039/c6pp00240d.

Authors

Firas H Abdulrazzak¹, Falah H Hussein², Ayad F Alkaim³, Irina Ivanova⁴, Alexei V Emeline⁵, Detlef W Bahnemann⁶

Affiliations

¹ Chemistry Department, College of Education for Pure Sciences, Diyala University, Diyala, Iraq.
² College of Pharmacy, Babylon University, Hilla, Iraq.
³ Department of Chemistry, College of Science for Women, Babylon University, Hilla, Iraq and Institut für Technische Chemie, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Callinstrasse 3, D-30167, Hannover, Germany. alkaim@iftc.uni-hannover.de.
⁴ Institut für Technische Chemie, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Callinstrasse 3, D-30167, Hannover, Germany. alkaim@iftc.uni-hannover.de.
⁵ Laboratory "Photoactive Nanocomposite Materials", Saint-Petersburg State University, Ulyanovskaya str. 1, Peterhof, Saint-Petersburg 198504, Russia.
⁶ Institut für Technische Chemie, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Callinstrasse 3, D-30167, Hannover, Germany. alkaim@iftc.uni-hannover.de and Laboratory "Photoactive Nanocomposite Materials", Saint-Petersburg State University, Ulyanovskaya str. 1, Peterhof, Saint-Petersburg 198504, Russia.

PMID: 27714320
DOI: 10.1039/c6pp00240d

Abstract

Modified Pt-TiO₂ NPs/decorated carbon nanotubes were synthesized utilizing sonochemical/hydration-dehydration techniques. Pt was loaded on TiO₂ by a photodeposition method keeping in mind the end goal to achieve electron-hole pair separation and promote the surface reaction. The morphological and basic properties of Pt-TiO₂/fCNTs were investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), photoluminescence (PL) and Raman spectroscopy. The selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns of Pt-TiO₂/fCNTs were obtained utilizing TEM-based energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) analysis. It was found that the TiO₂ nanoparticles were uniformly distributed on the fCNTs, and the Pt particles were decorated on the surface of TiO₂/fCNTs. The photocatalytic hydrogen production activity of the Pt_(0.5%)-TiO₂/fCNTs_(0.5%) nanoparticle composites was investigated using a sacrificial agent methanol solution. Pt-loaded TiO₂ demonstrated a hydrogen evolution rate around 20 times that of TiO₂/fCNTs_(0.5%) (fSWCNTs, fMWCNTs). When compared with platinized TiO₂ in methanol, which was utilized as a control material, Pt-TiO₂/fCNTs demonstrated an almost 2-fold increment in hydrogen generation.