Cu/Zr-doped TiO2 nanocomposite based photocatalysts for sustainable visible-light hydrogen generation

IF 4.2 Q2 CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Results in Chemistry Pub Date : 2025-07-23 DOI:10.1016/j.rechem.2025.102561

Abu Summama Sadavi Bilal , Gabriel Rodríguez-Ortiz , Mursaleen Shahid , Suhas Ballal , Halijah Hassan , Alisha Vashisht , Nayan Banik , Temur Eshchanov , Bekzod Madaminov , Muhammad Umair Ahsan Khan , Rida Fatima

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Abstract

The photocatalytic hydrogen (H₂) production under visible sunlight has gained global recognition as a viable energy source due to its renewable, clean, and sustainable approach. Bandgap engineering and surface modifications of the photocatalyst are crucial to effectively generating H₂ in the visible range and improving charge carrier (CC) usage. In this investigation, the simple hydrothermal method was used to develop an effective and stable Cu/Zr/TiO₂ (CZT) nanocomposite-based photocatalyst for hydrogen generation. The CZT nanocomposite-based photocatalyst was investigated for various structural, morphological, and optical characteristics. The XRD analysis disclosed the highly crystalline structure of the nanocomposite, while SEM images depicted an aggregation of small, roughly cubic, and irregularly shaped particles. Further, the effective electron transport was rendered by the CZT nanocomposites-based photocatalyst, which in turn facilitated the separation and movement of photogenerated charge carriers in a particular direction. The optimized CZT photocatalyst achieved an impressive H₂ production rate of 1241 μmol·g⁻¹·h⁻¹, significantly surpassing that of pristine TiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) (561 μmol·g⁻¹·h⁻¹), Zr/TiO₂ (578 μmol·g⁻¹·h⁻¹), and Cu/TiO₂ NPs (693 μmol·g⁻¹·h⁻¹) by factors of 2.21, 2.15, and 1.79, respectively. Additionally, the CZT nanocomposite demonstrated exceptional stability, maintaining a consistent H₂ evolution rate over four consecutive photocatalytic (PC) cycles, confirming its durability. The enhanced H₂ evolution rate is due to synergistic characteristics of nanocomposites, including efficient electron transport, particle shape and size, oxygen vacancies, and improved visible light (VL) absorption.

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Cu/ zr掺杂TiO2纳米复合光催化剂可持续可见光制氢

可见光下的光催化制氢（H2）因其可再生、清洁和可持续的方法而获得了全球的认可。光催化剂的带隙工程和表面修饰对于有效地产生可见光范围内的H2和提高电荷载流子（CC）的利用率至关重要。本研究采用简单水热法制备了一种高效稳定的Cu/Zr/TiO2 （CZT）纳米复合光催化剂。研究了CZT纳米复合材料光催化剂的各种结构、形态和光学特性。XRD分析揭示了纳米复合材料的高度结晶结构，而SEM图像描绘了小的，大致立方的，不规则形状的颗粒聚集。此外，基于CZT纳米复合材料的光催化剂提供了有效的电子传递，这反过来又促进了光生载流子在特定方向上的分离和移动。优化后的CZT光催化剂的H₂产率为1241 μmol·g−1·H−1，比原始TiO2纳米粒子（561 μmol·g−1·H−1）、Zr/TiO2 （578 μmol·g−1·H−1）和Cu/TiO2 NPs （693 μmol·g−1·H−1）分别高出2.21、2.15和1.79倍。此外，CZT纳米复合材料表现出优异的稳定性，在连续四个光催化（PC）循环中保持一致的氢气析出速率，证实了其耐久性。增强的H2析出速率是由于纳米复合材料的协同特性，包括有效的电子传递、颗粒形状和尺寸、氧空位和改善的可见光吸收。

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