Iron-based composite nanomaterials for eco-friendly photocatalytic hydrogen generation

This study deals with different proton sources for the enhancement of hydrogen generation by a powder-type complex photocatalytic system. This article reports on the undesirable role of external influences for eco-friendly hydrogen generation using low-cost iron-based nanomaterials. The synthesized material using a metal-organic framework template strategy was confirmed by in-situ characterizations. The bandgap of Fe 2 O 3 –TiO 2 has been tuned by the formation of a Fe 3 O 4 @Fe 2 O 3 –TiO 2 complex oxide. The hydrogen production rate has been enhanced by tuning pH, different sacrificial reagents and proton donors. The optimized condition along with the addition of 0.1 g of aniline hydrochloride as a proton source, enhanced the hydrogen evolution rate to 2.366 mmol/0.5 g/h which resulted in high quantum efficiency. Methanol played a crucial role as a sacrificial agent along with the addition of aniline hydrochloride as a proton source for this outstanding hydrogen evolution activity, which is explained by proposing a mechanism. The ultra-pure production of hydrogen gas (98.30%), apparent quantum efficiency of almost 74% under sunlight, and reusability of the proposed photocatalyst have been studied in detail. The presence system has many other advantages such as low cost, easy preparation, high stability and nontoxicity.