Abstract
For some decades, the scientific community has been looking for alternatives to the use of fossil fuels that allow for the planet’s sustainable and environmentally-friendly development. To do this, attempts have been made to mimic some processes that occur in nature, among which the photosystem-II stands out, which allows water splitting operating with different steps to generate oxygen and hydrogen. This research presents promising results using synthetic catalysts, which try to simulate some natural processes, and which are based on Au@ZnO–graphene compounds. These catalysts were prepared by incorporating different amounts of gold nanoparticles (1 wt.%, 3 wt.%, 5 wt.%, 10 wt.%) and graphene (1 wt.%) on the surface of synthesized zinc oxide nanowires (ZnO NWs), and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs), along with a commercial form (commercial ZnO) for comparison purposes. The highest amount of hydrogen (1127 μmol/hg) was reported by ZnO NWs with a gold and graphene loadings of 10 wt.% and 1 wt.%, respectively, under irradiation at 400 nm. Quantities of 759 μmol/hg and 709 μmol/hg were obtained with catalysts based on ZnO NPs and commercial ZnO, respectively. The photocatalytic activity of all composites increased with respect to the bare semiconductors, being 2.5 times higher in ZnO NWs, 8.8 times higher for ZnO NPs, and 7.5 times higher for commercial ZnO. The high photocatalytic activity of the catalysts is attributed, mainly, to the synergism between the different amount of gold and graphene incorporated, and the surface area of the composites.
Highlights
If you were asking to identify one of the many challenges that our world is facing you would probably say climate change, energy production, or sustainability
Graphene was unevenly distributed throughout the sample and served as a support for zinc oxide (ZnO) particles and gold nanoparticles
Graphene and different amounts of gold nanoparticles were incorporated on the surface of synthesized ZnO supports (ZnO NWs, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) catalysts), and on the commercial form
Summary
If you were asking to identify one of the many challenges that our world is facing you would probably say climate change, energy production, or sustainability. Most of these problems are directly related to the continuous growth of the world population and the use of fossil fuels as our primary energy source [1]. In the case of finding a clean and renewable energy source, multiple candidates have been proposed over the years. Some of the properties that make hydrogen a good candidate to replace fossil fuels are its abundance, high energy yield, storage capability, and environmental compatibility [2]. Hydrogen can produce 2.75 times more energy, can be stored as a solid, liquid, or gas, and if it is combined with oxygen, no harmful and toxic gases such as nitrogen oxides (NOx ) or sulfur oxides (SOx ) are release to the atmosphere [2]
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