Research Article Open Access

Synthesis and Characterization of Au@TiO2 NWs and their Catalytic Activity by Water Splitting: A Comparative Study with Degussa P25

Abniel Machín1, María Cotto1, José Ducongé1, Juan C. Arango1, Carmen Morant2 and Francisco Márquez1
  • 1 Universidad del Turabo, United States
  • 2 Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain

Abstract

Different amount of gold nanoparticles (1, 3, 5, 10 wt%) were deposited on the surface of synthesized titanium oxide nanowires (TiO2 NWs) and Degussa P25 (TiO2-P25). The results evidenced the presence of small and dispersed gold particles on the surface of TiO2 NWs and TiO2-P25 and an increase in the specific surface area of all the composites. The photocatalytic activity was characterized by measuring the hydrogen production by water splitting, using UV-vis radiation. Au@TiO2 NWs catalysts showed the highest production of hydrogen (1,436 μmol hg-1), with a gold loading of 10 wt%, while in the case of Au@TiO2-P25 the hydrogen production was slightly lower (800 μmol hg-1), with a gold loading of 5 wt%. The enhancement in the hydrogen production was 11.5 times higher than that reported by the TiO2 NWs catalyst (125 µmol hg-1) and 5.2 times higher than the TiO2-P25 (154 µmol hg-1). The activity of the catalysts was found to be dependent both on the surface area of the composites and on the amount of gold.

American Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Volume 10 No. 2, 2017, 298-311

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3844/ajeassp.2017.298.311

Submitted On: 28 May 2017 Published On: 6 June 2017

How to Cite: Machín, A., Cotto, M., Ducongé, J., Arango, J. C., Morant, C. & Márquez, F. (2017). Synthesis and Characterization of Au@TiO2 NWs and their Catalytic Activity by Water Splitting: A Comparative Study with Degussa P25. American Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 10(2), 298-311. https://doi.org/10.3844/ajeassp.2017.298.311

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Keywords

  • Hydrogen Production
  • TiO2 Nanowires
  • Gold Nanoparticles
  • Photocatalysis
  • Water Splitting