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Recent Advances in Nanocomposite Materials for Photocatalytic and Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Production

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Catalytic Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 October 2023) | Viewed by 3651

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Materials Science & Nanotechnology, Yogi Vemana University, Kadapa-516 005, Andhra Pradesh, India
Interests: photocatalysis; hydrogen generation; water splitting; TiO2; solar light; 1-D/2-D nanostructures; nanocomposites; hierarchical nanostructure; core-shell nanostructures; hybrid nanostructures

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Guest Editor
Surface and Interface Engineered Materials (SIEM), Department of Materials Engineering, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Interests: nanocomposites; photoelectrochemical (PEC); hydrogen generation; single atom catalysts (SACs); MOFs; 2D nanomaterials; hydrogen evolution reaction (HER); oxygen evolution reaction (OER); photocatalysis
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The splitting of water into molecular hydrogen and oxygen through photocatalysis and electrocatalysis has attracted the attention of global researchers as it works well under ambient temperature and pressure. A wide range of semiconductor-based materials has been used for this purpose. Catalytic efficiency largely depends on the property of the materials that greatly enhance surface–interface reactions and facilitate prolonging the lifetime of electron-hole pairs for a surface reaction. This Special Issue focuses on the development of efficient materials through the separation and migration of charge carriers for enhanced hydrogen production. The development of nanocomposite materials is fascinating and has attracted a deeper interest in photo(electro)catalytic H2 production by using renewable sources, including water and solar energy. The development of various types of nanomaterials, viz., 0D quantum dots, 1D nanotubes, nanorods, 2D nanosheets, and 3D porous materials (MOFs, ZIFs) is emerging as a solution to the current energy demands. Hence, many researchers and scientists worldwide have mainly focused on developing nanocomposite materials for energy applications, especially H2 generation. Recently, significant improvements in exciton separation resulting in enhanced photocatalytic efficiency were recorded through various strategies such as the Z-scheme, S-scheme, heterojunction, Schottky barrier, etc.

Hence in this Special Issue, we will collect research on advanced nanocomposite materials for photo(electro)catalytic H2 generation. We invite authors to submit original communications, articles, and reviews on advanced nanocomposite materials for H2 generation applications. We look forward to your contributions. 

Dr. Muthukonda Venkatakrishnan Shankar
Dr. Lakshmana Reddy Reddy Nagappagari
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • photocatalysis
  • electrocatalysis
  • photoelectrochemical (PEC)
  • hydrogen generation
  • solar light
  • water splitting
  • nanocomposites
  • hybrid materials
  • heterojunction
  • Z-scheme
  • S-scheme
  • Schottky barrier
  • TiO2 nanotubes
  • g-C3N4 nanosheets
  • carbon nanostructures
  • reduced graphene oxide
  • carbon quantum dots
  • metal chalcogenides
  • MOFs

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 3342 KiB  
Article
Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production of ZnIn2S4 by Using Surface-Engineered Ti3C2Tx MXene as a Cocatalyst
by Mengdie Cai, Xiaoqing Zha, Zhenzhen Zhuo, Jiaqi Bai, Qin Wang, Qin Cheng, Yuxue Wei and Song Sun
Materials 2023, 16(6), 2168; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16062168 - 8 Mar 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1743
Abstract
Developing efficient and stable photocatalysts is crucial for photocatalytic hydrogen production. Cocatalyst loading is one of the effective strategies for improving photocatalytic efficiency. Here, Ti3C2Tx (Tx = F, OH, O) nanosheets have been adopted as promising cocatalysts [...] Read more.
Developing efficient and stable photocatalysts is crucial for photocatalytic hydrogen production. Cocatalyst loading is one of the effective strategies for improving photocatalytic efficiency. Here, Ti3C2Tx (Tx = F, OH, O) nanosheets have been adopted as promising cocatalysts for photocatalytic hydrogen production due to their metallic conductivity and unique 2D characterization. In particular, surface functionalized Ti3C2(OH)x and Ti3C2Ox cocatalysts were synthesized through the alkalization treatment with NaOH and a mild oxidation treatment of Ti3C2Fx, respectively. ZnIn2S4/Ti3C2Tx composites, which were fabricated by the in-situ growth of ZnIn2S4 nanosheets on the Ti3C2Tx surface, exhibited the promoted photocatalytic performance, compared with the parent ZnIn2S4. The enhanced photocatalytic performance can be further optimized through the surface functionalization of Ti3C2Fx. As a result, the optimized ZnIn2S4/Ti3C2Ox composite with oxygen functionalized Ti3C2Ox cocatalyst demonstrated excellent photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity. The characterizations and density functional theory calculation suggested that O-terminated Ti3C2Ox could effectively facilitate the transfer and separation of photogenerated electrons and holes due to the formation of a Schottky junction, with the largest difference in work function between ZnIn2S4 and Ti3C2Ox. This work paves the way for photocatalytic applications of MXene-based photocatalysts by tuning their surface termination groups. Full article
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14 pages, 4004 KiB  
Article
Catalytic Hydrogen Evolution from H2S Cracking over CrxZnS Catalyst in a Cylindrical Single-Layered Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Reactor
by Saba Afzal, Humaira Hussain, Muhammad Yasin Naz, Shazia Shukrullah, Irshad Ahmad, Muhammad Irfan, Salim Nasar Faraj Mursal, Stanislaw Legutko, Izabela Kruszelnicka and Dobrochna Ginter-Kramarczyk
Materials 2022, 15(21), 7426; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15217426 - 23 Oct 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1331
Abstract
The use of non-thermal plasma technology in producing green fuels is a much-appreciated environmentally friendly approach. In this study, an Al2O3-supported CrxZnS semiconductor catalyst was tested for hydrogen evolution from hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas by [...] Read more.
The use of non-thermal plasma technology in producing green fuels is a much-appreciated environmentally friendly approach. In this study, an Al2O3-supported CrxZnS semiconductor catalyst was tested for hydrogen evolution from hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas by using a single-layered dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) system. The Al2O3-supported CrxZnS catalyst (x = 0.20, 0.25, and 0.30) was produced by using a co-impregnation method and characterized for its structural and photocatalytic characteristics. The discharge column of the DBD system was filled with this catalyst and fed with hydrogen sulfide and argon gas. The DBD plasma was sustained with a fixed AC source of 10 kV where plasma produced species and UV radiations activated the catalyst to break H2S molecules under ambient conditions. The catalyst (hexagonal-cubic-sphalerite structure) showed an inverse relationship between the band gap and the dopant concentration. The hydrogen evolution decreased with an increase in dopant concentration in the nanocomposite. The Cr0.20ZnS catalyst showed excellent photocatalytic activity under the DBD exposure by delivering 100% conversion efficiency of H2S into hydrogen. The conversion decreased to 96% and 90% in case of Cr0.25ZnS and Cr0.30ZnS, respectively. Full article
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