Hydrothermal preparation and characterization of nanostructured CNTs/ZnFe2O4 composites for solar water splitting application. Issue 8 (June 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Dang, Haifeng; Qiu, Yongfu; Cheng, Zhiyu; Yang, Wei; Wu, Huayi; Fan, Hongbo; Dong, Xinfa
• Is Part Of: Ceramics international. Volume 42:Issue 8(2016)
• Page Start: 10520
• Page End: 10525
• Publication Date: 2016-06
• Subjects: Solar -- ZnFe2O4 -- Carbon nanotubes -- Water splitting -- H2; Ceramics -- Periodicals; Céramique industrielle -- Périodiques; Ceramics; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 666
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2016.03.019
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0272-8842

Abstract

Abstract: Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs)/ZnFe2 O4 composites were fabricated hydrothermally via direct growth of ZnFe2 O4 nanoparticles on the CNTs surface. The as-obtained samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and UV–visible diffuse reflectance spectra (UV–vis DRS) techniques. The photocatalytic performance was evaluated by water splitting in methanol aqueous solution under high-pressure Hg lamp illumination. The effects of CNTs content in the composites on the solar H2 generation activity were investigated comparatively. Compared with bare ZnFe2 O4, the CNTs/ZnFe2 O4 hybrid exhibited enhanced photocatalytic H2 evolution activity. The photoluminescence emission spectra (PL) showed that the fluorescence of CNTs/ZnFe2 O4 composites was quenched significantly in comparison with that of pristine ZnFe2 O4, indicating that an enhanced charge carrier separation efficiency was achieved. Also, a probable mechanism of CNTs for the enhancement of H2 evolution performance is proposed and discussed.