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Machín A, Arango JC, Fontánez K, et al. Biomimetic Catalysts Based on Au@ZnO-Graphene Composites for the Generation of Hydrogen by Water Splitting. Biomimetics (Basel). 2020;5(3)doi: 10.3390/biomimetics5030039.
Machín, A., Arango, J. C., Fontánez, K., Cotto, M., Duconge, J., Soto-Vázquez, L., Resto, E., Petrescu, F. I. T., Morant, C., & Márquez, F. (2020). Biomimetic Catalysts Based on Au@ZnO-Graphene Composites for the Generation of Hydrogen by Water Splitting. Biomimetics (Basel, Switzerland), 5(3), . https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics5030039
Machín, Abniel, et al. "Biomimetic Catalysts Based on Au@ZnO-Graphene Composites for the Generation of Hydrogen by Water Splitting." Biomimetics (Basel, Switzerland) vol. 5,3 (2020). doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics5030039
Machín A, Arango JC, Fontánez K, Cotto M, Duconge J, Soto-Vázquez L, Resto E, Petrescu FIT, Morant C, Márquez F. Biomimetic Catalysts Based on Au@ZnO-Graphene Composites for the Generation of Hydrogen by Water Splitting. Biomimetics (Basel). 2020 Aug 21;5(3). doi: 10.3390/biomimetics5030039. PMID: 32839383; PMCID: PMC7558139.
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Biomimetics (Basel). 2020 Aug 21;5(3). doi: 10.3390/biomimetics5030039.

Biomimetic Catalysts Based on Au@ZnO-Graphene Composites for the Generation of Hydrogen by Water Splitting.

Biomimetics (Basel, Switzerland)

Abniel Machín, Juan C Arango, Kenneth Fontánez, María Cotto, José Duconge, Loraine Soto-Vázquez, Edgar Resto, Florian Ion Tiberiu Petrescu, Carmen Morant, Francisco Márquez

Affiliations

  1. Arecibo Observatory, Universidad Ana G. Méndez-Cupey Campus, San Juan, PR 00926, USA.
  2. Nanomaterials Research Group, School of Natural Sciences and Technology, Universidad Ana G. Méndez-Gurabo Campus, Gurabo, PR 00778, USA.
  3. Materials Characterization Center Inc., Molecular Sciences Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR 00926, USA.
  4. IFToMM-ARoTMM, Bucharest Polytechnic University, 060042 Bucharest, Romania.
  5. Department of Applied Physics, Autonomous University of Madrid, 28041 Madrid, Spain.

PMID: 32839383 PMCID: PMC7558139 DOI: 10.3390/biomimetics5030039

Abstract

For some decades, the scientific community has been looking for alternatives to the use of fossil fuels that allow for the planet's sustainable and environmentally-friendly development. To do this, attempts have been made to mimic some processes that occur in nature, among which the photosystem-II stands out, which allows water splitting operating with different steps to generate oxygen and hydrogen. This research presents promising results using synthetic catalysts, which try to simulate some natural processes, and which are based on Au@ZnO-graphene compounds. These catalysts were prepared by incorporating different amounts of gold nanoparticles (1 wt.%, 3 wt.%, 5 wt.%, 10 wt.%) and graphene (1 wt.%) on the surface of synthesized zinc oxide nanowires (ZnO NWs), and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs), along with a commercial form (commercial ZnO) for comparison purposes. The highest amount of hydrogen (1127 μmol/hg) was reported by ZnO NWs with a gold and graphene loadings of 10 wt.% and 1 wt.%, respectively, under irradiation at 400 nm. Quantities of 759 μmol/hg and 709 μmol/hg were obtained with catalysts based on ZnO NPs and commercial ZnO, respectively. The photocatalytic activity of all composites increased with respect to the bare semiconductors, being 2.5 times higher in ZnO NWs, 8.8 times higher for ZnO NPs, and 7.5 times higher for commercial ZnO. The high photocatalytic activity of the catalysts is attributed, mainly, to the synergism between the different amount of gold and graphene incorporated, and the surface area of the composites.

Keywords: ZnO; gold nanoparticles; graphene; hydrogen production; water splitting

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