In this study, hydrogen generation was performed by utilizing methylene blue dye as visible-light photosensitizer while the used catalyst is working as a transfer bridge for the electrons to H+/H2 reaction. Silica NPs-incorporated TiO2 nanofibers, which have a more significant band gap and longer electrons lifetime compared to pristine TiO2, were used as a catalyst. The nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning of amorphous SiO2 NPs/titanium isopropoxide/poly (vinyl acetate)/N, N-dimethylformamide colloid. Physicochemical characterizations confirmed the preparation of well morphology SiO2-TiO2 nanofibers with a bandgap energy of 3.265 eV. Under visible light radiation, hydrogen and oxygen were obtained in good stoichiometric rates (9.5 and 4.7 mL/min/gcat, respectively) without any considerable change in the dye concentration, which proves the successful exploitation of the dye as a photosensitizer. Under UV irradiation, SiO2 NPs incorporation distinctly enhanced the dye photodegradation, as around 91 and 94% removal efficiency were obtained from TiO2 nanofibers containing 4 and 6 wt% of the used dopant, respectively, within 60 min.
Keywords: electrospinning; hydrogen; photosensitizer; silica nanoparticles; water photo splitting.