Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
2024
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Chemistry
First Advisor
James Hoefelmeyer
Abstract
The overreliance on fossil fuels contributes to geopolitical, economic, and environmental risks that adversely affect society. Photocatalytic processes in which light energy is used to drive endothermic chemical steps, such as water splitting to hydrogen and oxygen, could contribute solutions to these energy and environmental issues. Numerous substances have been developed that can effectively catalyze solar water splitting; however, their efficiency has yet to reach cost equivalence with rival technologies. The most studied materials employ semiconductors for light absorption, modified with co-catalysts to gather photogenerated charge carriers and promote electron transfer, thereby enabling endothermic redox reactions to occur. Anatase TiO2 is one of the promising semiconductors because it is non-toxic, naturally abundant, and resistant to photo corrosion. However, key limitations of TiO2 in photocatalysis applications must be overcome, such as poor visible light absorbance, slow surface catalysis, and fast exciton recombination. To mitigate the exciton recombination, we prepared a TiO2-NiO heteronanocrystal with a type II p-n junction. The heteronanocrystals were prepared by the decomposition of nickel precursors in the presence of TiO2 nanorods. The TiO2-NiO heteronanocrystals were characterized by TEM, PXRD, UV-Vis, and photoluminescence studies. In our photocatalysis test, we found the steady-state H2O2 formation in the presence of electron acceptors.
Subject Categories
Chemistry
Keywords
Photocatalytic processes, fossil fuels, solar water splitting, Anatase TiO2
Number of Pages
51
Publisher
University of South Dakota
Recommended Citation
Mia, Rashed, "BINARY PHASE NIO-TIO2 HETEROJUNCTION FOR PHOTOCATALYTIC H2O2 FORMATION" (2024). Dissertations and Theses. 277.
https://red.library.usd.edu/diss-thesis/277