Synthesis of novel activated carbon-supported trimetallic Pt–Ru–Ni nanoparticles using wood chips as efficient catalysts for the hydrogen generation from NaBH4 and enhanced photodegradation on methylene blue

Abstract

A novel activated carbon (AC) supported trimetallic Platinum–Ruthenium–Nickel nanoparticles (AC@Pt–Ru–Ni NPs) synthesized as an efficient catalyst for hydrogen production from NaBH4 and enhanced photodegradation ability on methylene blue (MB) dye is reported. AC, which is used as a support material in nanoparticle synthesis, was produced from wood chips. X-ray diffractometry (XRD), atomic force microscope (AFM), Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR), Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), and UV–visible spectrophotometer (UV–Vis) are used for nanoparticles characterization. According to XRD analysis, the average crystal particle size was measured to be about 3.44 nm. In TEM analysis, the average particle size was determined as 2.44 nm. The photocatalytic activity of AC@Pt–Ru–Ni NPs was examined against MB azo dye and found to have 97% photocatalytic degradation at 300 min against MB. The catalyst activity of AC@Pt–Ru–Ni NPs in hydrogen production was determined by the methanolysis reaction from NaBH4. The Turnover of Frequency (TOF), Activation energy (Ea), enthalpy (ΔH), and entropy values (ΔS) values of the hydrogen production reaction were calculated as 1154.04 h−1, 24.29 kJ/mol, 26.83 kJ/mol, −198.76 J/mol.K, respectively. The study successfully achieved the recycling of wood waste, production of hydrogen, and photodegradation against MB dye. In this study, wood wastes were evaluated and it was aimed to be used in AC production and nanocatalyst synthesis. The efficiency of the synthesized AC@PtRuNi nanocatalyst in hydrogen production and its usability for cleaning dyes from wastewater was determined. The obtained results show that AC@PtRuNi nanocatalyst has potential usability both in hydrogen production and in applications for cleaning dyes from wastewater.