Synthesis of Novel Zn<sub>3</sub>V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>8</sub>/Ag Nanocomposite for Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production

oleh: Fahad A. Alharthi, Alanood Sulaiman Ababtain, Hend Khalid Aldubeikl, Hamdah S. Alanazi, Imran Hasan

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2023-02-01

Deskripsi

In this study, we fabricated Zn<sub>3</sub>V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>8</sub> and a Ag-modified Zn<sub>3</sub>V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>8</sub> composite (Zn<sub>3</sub>V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>8</sub>/Ag) by utilizing effective and benign approaches. Further characterization techniques such as powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were explored to examine the phase and structural properties, respectively, of the synthesized Zn<sub>3</sub>V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>8</sub>/Ag and Zn<sub>3</sub>V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>8</sub>/Ag composite materials. The oxidation states and elemental composition of the synthesized Zn<sub>3</sub>V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>8</sub>/Ag and Zn<sub>3</sub>V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>8</sub>/Ag were characterized by adopting X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The optical band gaps of the synthesized Zn<sub>3</sub>V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>8</sub>/Ag and Zn<sub>3</sub>V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>8</sub>/Ag were examined by employing ultraviolet–visible (UV-vis) diffuse reflection spectroscopy. HRTEM images clearly show that ZnV@Ag NC has a hexagonal plate-like morphology. Subsequently, Zn<sub>3</sub>V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>8</sub> and Zn<sub>3</sub>V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>8</sub>/Ag were used as photocatalysts for photocatalytic hydrogen (H<sub>2</sub>) production. It was observed that after Ag doping, the energy band gap of ZnV was reduced from 2.33 eV to 2.19 eV. EDX mapping images also show the presence of Ag, O, Zn, and V elements and confirm the formation of ZnV@Ag NC with good phase purity. Observations clearly showed the presence of excellent photocatalytic properties of the synthesized photocatalyst. The Zn<sub>3</sub>V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>8</sub>/Ag photocatalyst exhibited H<sub>2</sub> generation of 37.52 µmolg<sup>−1</sup>h<sup>−1</sup>, which is higher compared to pristine Zn<sub>3</sub>V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>8</sub>. The Zn<sub>3</sub>V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>8</sub>/Ag photocatalyst also demonstrated excellent reusability, including decent stability. The reusability experiments suggested that ZnV@Ag NC has excellent cyclic stability for up to six cycles.