Conversion of Sewage Water into H2 Gas Fuel Using Hexagonal Nanosheets of the Polyaniline-Assisted Deposition of PbI2 as a Nanocomposite Photocathode with the Theoretical Qualitative Ab-Initio Calculation of the H2O Splitting

Abstract

This study is very promising for providing a renewable enrgy (H2 gas fuel) under the elctrochemical splitting of the wastwater (sewage water). This study has double benefits: hydrogen generation and contaminations removel. This study is carried out on sewage water, third stage treated, from Beni-Suef city, Egypt. Antimony tin oxide (ATO)/polyaniline (PANI)/PbI2 photoelectrode is prepared through the in situ oxidative polymerization of PANI on ATO, then PANI is used as an assistant for PbI2 deposition using the ionic adsorption deposition method. The chemical structural, morphological, electrical, and optical properties of the composite are confirmed using different analytical tools such as X-ray diffreaction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmision electron microscope (TEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The prepared PbI2 inside the composite has a crystal size of 33 nm (according to the peak at 12.8°) through the XRD analyses device. SEM and TEM confirm the hexagonal PbI2 sheets embedded on the PANI nanopores surface. Moreover, the bandgap values are enhanced very much after the composite formation, in which the bandgap values for PANI and PANI/PbI2 are 3 and 2.51 eV, respectively. The application of ATO/PANI/PbI2 nanocomposite electrode for sewage splitting and H2 generation is carried out through a three-electrode cell. The measurements carreid out using the electrocehical worksattion under th Xenon lamp (100 mW.cm−2). The produced current density (Jph) is 0.095 mA.cm−2 at 100 mW.cm−2 light illumination. The photoelectrode has high reproducibility and stability, in which and the number of H2 moles is 6 µmole.h−1.cm−1. The photoelectrode response to different monochromatic light, in which the produced Jph decreases from 0.077 to 0.072 mA.cm−2 with decreasing of the wavelengths from 390 to 636 nm, respectively. These values confirms the high response of the ATO/PANI/PbI2 nanocomposite electrode for the light illuminaton and hydrogen genration under broad light region. The thermodynamic parameters: activation energy (Ea), enthalpy (ΔH*), and entropy (ΔS*) values are 7.33 kJ/mol, −4.7 kJ/mol, and 203.3 J/mol.K, respectively. The small values of ΔS* relted to the high sesnivity of the prepared elctrode for the water splitting and then the hydrogen gneration. Finally, a theoretical study was mentioned for calculation geometry, electrochemical, and thermochemistry properties of the polyaniline/PbI2 nanocomposite as compared with that for the polyaniline.

Development of polypyrrole/Ni(OH)2‐NiOcore‐shell nanocomposite as an optoelectronic device

“…The chemical vibrational structure of the prepared Ppy and Ppy/Ni(OH) 2 ‐NiO composite is confirmed using the FTIR as shown in Figure 1b. The Ppy structure is confirmed well via the presence of the bands, in which the band is located at ~1537 cm −1 is related to the Ppy ring, while the bands at ~1294 and 1044 cm −1 are related to the C–H bond vibration, while the bands at ~1035 cm −1 results from the vibration of C–N bonds 20–22 . The effect of the Ni–O vibration bond appears below 800 cm −1 at ~773 cm −1 , 23 while the Ni–OH is located at ~2994 cm −1 .…”

“…The effect of the Ni–O vibration bond appears below 800 cm −1 at ~773 cm −1 , 23 while the Ni–OH is located at ~2994 cm −1 . After the formation of Ppy/Ni(OH) 2 ‐NiO, there are small shifts in the bands in comparison to Ppy nanomaterials, this is related to the effect of bond vibration after the composite formation 21,22,24,25 . Besides, the peaks from 1685 to 2318 cm −1 may be attributed to the solvent that was washed in the samples.…”

Fabrication and Characterization of Nanostructured Rock Wool as a Novel Material for Efficient Water-Splitting Application

“…The rapid growth in the amount of H2 indicated the excellent stability of the RW>0.3 photoelectrodes. In addition, Table 2 shows a comparison between our optimized RW nanocatalyst and recently reported nanotextured catalysts [94][95][96][97][98][99][100][101][102][103][104]. The comparison is carried out in terms of photocatalyst composition, electrolyte, light power or source and catalytic performance parameters (H 2 moles, J ph or IPCE% values).…”

Highly flexible poly-O-aminothiophenol/intercalated iodide composite with highly morphological properties for green hydrogen generation from Red Sea water

“…However, the use of such agents had certain drawbacks. One significant concern was their impact on the lifespan and durability of the photocathode, especially when the photocathode was exposed to highly acidic or basic environments [11,12].…”