Preparation of polyaniline/PbS core-shell nano/microcomposite and its application for photocatalytic H2 electrogeneration from H2O

Abstract

Lead sulfide (PbS) and polyaniline (PANI) nano/microparticles were prepared. Then, PANI/PbS core-shell nano/microcomposites (I, II, and III) were prepared by oxidative polymerization of different aniline concentrations (0.01, 0.03, and 0.05 M), respectively, in the presence of 0.05 M PbS. FT-IR, XRD, SEM, HR-TEM, and UV-Vis analyses were carried out to characterize the samples. From the FT-IR data, there are redshifts in PbS and PANI nano/microparticles bands in comparison with PANI/PbS nano/microcomposites. The average crystallite sizes of PANI/PbS core-shell nano/microcomposites (I, II, and III) from XRD analyses were 46.5, 55, and 42.16 nm, respectively. From the optical analyses, nano/microcomposite (II) has the optimum optical properties with two band gaps values of 1.41 and 2.79 eV. Then, the nano/microcomposite (II) membrane electrode supported on ITO glass was prepared and applied on the photoelectrochemical (PEC) H2 generation from H2O. The characteristics current-voltage and current-time behaviors were measured at different wavelengths from 390 to 636 nm. Also, the incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) under monochromatic illumination condition was calculated. The optimum values for IPCE were 36.5 and 35.2% at 390 and 405 nm, respectively. Finally, a simple mechanism for PEC H2 generation from H2O using the nano/microcomposite (II) membrane electrode was mentioned.

Effect of Cu, Ni and Pb doping on the photo-electrochemical activity of ZnO thin films

“…This increased current density can be attributed to the modication of the surface of the electrode; a similar phenomenon was previously reported for the different types of electrodes. [66][67][68] The enhanced solar absorption of the Pb-doped ZnO photoanode was further conrmed by measuring the incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) under monochromatic illumination conditions. Such analytical measurements can also give meaningful insight into the contribution of Pb-doped ZnO electrode in the conversion of the incident photons into charge carriers.…”

“…To fully evaluate the PEC-water splitting performance of the Pb-doped ZnO photoanode, we further measured the applied bias photon-to-current efficiency (ABPE), which can allow diagnostic measurements represent the development of the electrode performance as a function of the applied potential. The measured ABPE values for the Pb-doped ZnO photoanode was calculated by using eqn (2): 68,70 ABPE ð%Þ ¼ J ph…”

Effect of plasmonic au nanoparticles on the photoactivity of polyaniline/indium tin oxide electrodes for water splitting

“…Nobel metals such as Pt, Ru, and Rh demonstrate highly activities toward the hydrolytic dehydrogenation . Sometimes, bimetallic nanocatalysts by alloying noble metal with transition metals such as Fe, Co, and Ni were explored .…”

Superior overall water splitting performance in polypyrrole photoelectrode by couplingNrGOand modifying electropolymerization substrate

“…The RuO 2 and NrGO nanosheets with the capability of absorbing high-solar spectra and extra charge transmission improve the separation of the charge carriers and so reduced the probability of recombination. 17,19 Thus, the photogenerated charges have enough time to move toward the electrode/electrolyte interfaces and contribute to the OER and HER reactions to produce oxygen and hydrogen, respectively.…”

“…Conducting polymers (CPs) are promising candidates to fabricate the photoelectrode with potential applications in water splitting because they may combine several desirable properties. 2,16 Most famous of CPs are polyaniline (PANI), 17 polypyrrole (PPy) 18 and poly [3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene] (PEDOT). 19 The PPy with the low cost, ease of synthesis, environment stability, and high conductivity is preferred to the others.…”