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Synthesis of BaCeO3 nanoneedles and the effect of V, Ag, Au, Pt do** on the visible light hydrogen evolution in the photocatalytic water splitting reaction

  • Original Paper: Sol–gel and hybrid materials for energy, environment and building applications
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Abstract

Barium cerate BaCeO3, with the perovskite-like and 4f electronic structure of its conduction band, is a material that found applications in photocatalytic hydrogen production from water splitting and solid oxide fuel cells. In fine-tuning of the material, one needs to overcome the hurdle of fast recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. This usually is achieved via metal and other atoms do**. In this paper, we report our attempts to increase the efficiency of the water-splitting reaction when using BaCeO3 by do** it with V, Ag, Au, and Pt. Pure BaCeO3 nanoneedles were synthesized employing a sol–gel method. The nanoneedles were then doped with the afore-mentioned elements. Characterization of the material was carried out via XRD, UV–Vis, TEM, PL, photocurrent intensity, and N2-adsorption measurements. Photocatalytic water splitting was set up under conditions that simulate the natural sunlight with the utilization of glycerol as a scavenger. While pure BaCeO3 does not show appreciable activity towards water splitting, Pt–BaCeO3 produced the best results compared with the other three elements used as dopants. The rate of H2 production using BaCeO3, V–BaCeO3, Ag–BaCeO3, Au–BaCeO3, and Pt–BaCeO3 was 28, 500, 900, 1800, and 2400 μmol g−1, respectively. The superior performance of Pt-doped and Au-doped BaCeO3 can be explained by the narrow bandgap (Pt: 2.16 eV, Au: 2.36 eV), high surface area (Pt: 36.0 m2/g, Au: 38.0 m2/g), and the compatible 4f electronic structure of BaCeO3 and Pt and Au.

Hourly evolved H2 concentrations against reaction time for the five photocatalysts.

Highlights

  • BaCeO3 nanoneedles and V, Ag, Au, and Pt-doped BaCeO3 nanoneedles have been prepared via sol–gel process.

  • Heterogeneous the photocatalytic process was employed for hydrogen production.

  • Pt-doped and Au-doped BaCeO3 nanoneedles have superior performance for hydrogen production.

  • Rate of hydrogen evolved of Pt-doped BaCeO3 nanoneedles are higher than 85.7 for BaCeO3 nanoneedles.

  • Reusability test demonstrated the photostability of Pt-doped BaCeO3 nanoneedles after five cycles.

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Acknowledgements

This article was funded by the Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR) at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah. The authors therefore acknowledge with thanks DSR for technical and financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80203, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia

    Mohammad W. Kadi & Reda M. Mohamed

  2. Advanced Materials Department, Central Metallurgical R&D Institute, CMRDI, P.O. Box 87, Helwan, Cairo, 11421, Egypt

    Reda M. Mohamed

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  1. Mohammad W. Kadi
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  2. Reda M. Mohamed
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Correspondence to Reda M. Mohamed.

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Kadi, M.W., Mohamed, R.M. Synthesis of BaCeO3 nanoneedles and the effect of V, Ag, Au, Pt do** on the visible light hydrogen evolution in the photocatalytic water splitting reaction. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 91, 138–145 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-019-05018-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-019-05018-y

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