Increased production of hydrogen with in situ CO2 capture through the process of water splitting using magnetic core/shell structures as novel photocatalysts.

One of the chief challenges in hydrogen production through the photocatalytic splitting of water is to employ an efficient photocatalyst that has an absorption edge at the range of long wavelengths. In this study, composite structures made of different Ag-based shells over the core of Fe2O3 nanoparticles were utilized as novel magnetic photocatalysts for hydrogen generation from water. Specifically, Ag nanoparticles, Ag/(3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTS), and Ag/polyethyleneimine (PEI) were capped on the surface of the hematite core to produce three visible light-effective photocatalysts. Structural and textural properties of the synthesized photocatalysts were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Additionally, their thermal stability and optical properties were respectively studied using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and UV reflectance. Photocatalytic activities of the presented core/shells were planned either as a function of the magnetic force or composition of the shell layer. It could be noted that the incorporation of organic or polymer layer could significantly increase the electronic density at the metal centers. Thus, the ability of iron oxide to catalyze the water-splitting process could be enhanced. Hence, the variation of shell structure could show a key-role in the photocatalytic potential of the presented structures in terms of manipulating the composition of produced gases. On the other hand, the magnetic nature of hematite could also positively affect the photocatalytic activity of these structures by minimizing the scattering of light irradiation during the splitting process. Particularly, shifting the way of photocatalysts dispersion from magnetic to mechanical (during water splitting) had in turn reduced hydrogen productivity from 540 to 485 mmol h-1 g-1. This obviously confirms the relationship between the level of hydrogen production by the presented photocatalysts and their magnetic nature which results in quenching of irradiation scattering.