Solar photocatalysts based on titanium dioxide nanotubes for hydrogen evolution from aqueous solutions of ethanol

Albina A. Valeeva*, Irina Dorosheva, Ekatarina Kozlova, Anna Sushnikova, Anna Yu Kurenkova, Andrey Saraev, Hartmuth Schröttner, Andrey Rempel

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Titanium foil was anodized to grow titanium dioxide nanotubes (TiO 2 NT) by using an original technique. A solution of ethylene glycol and ammonium fluoride with a concentration of 0.5 wt% was employed as electrolyte, corrosion-resistant steel was chosen as the cathode material. Anodic oxidation was carried out potentiostatically at a voltage of 60 V at ambient temperature for 90 min. Modification of as prepared TiO 2 NT were modified by calcination in air at 350°C for 4 h. Platinization of TiO 2 NT was carried out by chemical reduction of platinum from H 2PtCl 6 solution by NaBH 4 solution. Photocatalyst characterization was performed by using XRD, BET, SEM, XPS techniques. It was found that the calcination of as-prepared TiO 2 NT leads to 6-fold increase of the photocatalytic activity under UV-irradiation. The enhanced activity of TiO 2 NT is associated with the developed specific surface area and unique morphology of TiO 2 NT. This results in high rate of separation of photogenerated excited electrons and holes. Due to high separation rate the catalytic activity increases substantially.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)16917-16924
Number of pages8
JournalInternational Journal of Hydrogen Energy
Volume46
Issue number32
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 10 May 2021

Keywords

  • Ethanol solution
  • Hydrogen evolution
  • Titanium dioxide nanotubes
  • Titanium foil anodization

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Materials Science
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Energy Engineering and Power Technology
  • Fuel Technology
  • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment

Fields of Expertise

  • Advanced Materials Science

Treatment code (Nähere Zuordnung)

  • Basic - Fundamental (Grundlagenforschung)

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