Magnesium-doped zinc oxide film for hydrogen production from wastewater

Abstract

Recently, developing resources for H2 production has been a supreme priority to maintain the current rate of global warming in waste and drinking water. Metal-doped zinc oixde (ZnO) film-based catalyst materials are better candidates for electrochemical water splitting. Herein, it will be demonstrated that Mg-doped ZnO films can significantly enhance the electrochemical water splitting and H2 production. Therefore, Mg-doped ZnO films were synthesized using the dip coating technique. The undoped and Mg-doped ZnO films' structure, chemical, and morphological properties were characterized using detalied measurements. The electrical and optical characteristics of ZnO and Mg–ZnO samples were investigated. ZnO and Mg–ZnO films coated on the proper reactor were utilized for electrochemical water splitting. The efficiency of the electrochemical water splitting increases from 29 % to 56 % as ZnO is doped with Mg. In addition, the yielding H2 concentration increases from 9.92 × 10−7 mol/L.h to 3.65 × 10−6 mol/L.h when ZnO is doped with Mg. Hence, the work sheds new insight into new ways of fabricating significant photocatalysts for low-cost hydrogen extraction and echo-friendly agents.