Publication

Abstract : TiO2/TiO2-WO3 (Ti/Ti-W) reinforced PANI hybrid composite synthesis and investigation of its structural and photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity are discussed in the present work. The efficiency of the synthesized core/shell structured Ti/Ti-W in re-enforcing polyaniline, a conductive polymer with low band gap and enhanced visible light response for hydrogen evolution reaction is studied. Polyaniline supported mixed oxide composite is successfully fabricated by an in-situ polymerization reaction in presence of the as prepared composite. The interaction at the interface of the polymer and the oxide nanofiller in the resultant composite makes it a better visible light harvestor with significantly enhanced charge separation. The modified PANI/Ti/Ti-W composite yields 20.1 mL of hydrogen from 20 mL water containing 0. 1 g of diethyl amine hydrogen chloride with a quantum efficiency of 20.7%. The improved hydrogen delivering capacity offered by the polymer composite could be better explained in terms of effective utilization of solar energy, surface porosity and efficient separation of charge carriers. The mesoporous catalyst facilitated photocatalytic reaction by rapid diffusion, adsorption of reactants and by fast desorption of product molecules. The composite takes the advantage of both the organic and the inorganic components to achieve active hydrogen generation.