Preparation of a new Sacrificial Reagent through tree leaves and its photocatalytic HER and CO2 reductions performance

The current energy and environmental crises have been the two greatest challenges impeding the development towards environmental sustainability a pillar of sustainable development. Photocatalysis can be appraised as an upcoming prospect to solve the current crises as this process only requires inexh...

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Main Author: Sze, Sharon Pei Xuan
Other Authors: Xue Can
Format: Final Year Project (FYP)
Language:English
Published: Nanyang Technological University 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/139489
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author Sze, Sharon Pei Xuan
author2 Xue Can
author_facet Xue Can
Sze, Sharon Pei Xuan
author_sort Sze, Sharon Pei Xuan
collection NTU
description The current energy and environmental crises have been the two greatest challenges impeding the development towards environmental sustainability a pillar of sustainable development. Photocatalysis can be appraised as an upcoming prospect to solve the current crises as this process only requires inexhaustible solar energy from the Sun as a driving force. The photocatalysts play a vital role in photocatalytic process. However, the drawbacks of photocatalysts includes low light harvesting, sever charge recombination and sluggish surface catalytic kinetics due to its low photocatalytic activity. Thus, numerous efforts have been made towards developing a more efficient photocatalyst. The sacrificial reagent and catalyst must be added to various photocatalytic systems. After the addition of the sacrificial reagent, the charge recombination will be suppressed, and only half-reaction is required to be considered. It is easy to investigate the photocatalytic mechanism, yet, the exploration of new sacrificial reagent is rarely reported. Therefore, in this study, a new environmentally friendly, sacrificial reagent is developed and synthesised at low costs which aims to minimise environmental impact and reducing pollution from the source. The new sacrificial reagents were synthesised using green and withered leaves, and reflux under concentrated acid, base, and deionised water conditions. The metal-free photocatalyst - Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) is used as a model photocatalyst to test the effect of new synthesised sacrificial reagent in photocatalytic H2 evolution from water. Data obtained from the photocatalytic water splitting experiments showed that the new synthesised sacrificial reagents derived from green and withered leaves does enhance the photocatalytic efficiency and can be acknowledged as a potential candidate for large-scale as well as low-cost photocatalytic applications.
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spelling ntu-10356/1394892023-03-04T15:34:28Z Preparation of a new Sacrificial Reagent through tree leaves and its photocatalytic HER and CO2 reductions performance Sze, Sharon Pei Xuan Xue Can School of Materials Science and Engineering CXUE@ntu.edu.sg Engineering::Materials::Ecomaterials Engineering::Materials::Energy materials The current energy and environmental crises have been the two greatest challenges impeding the development towards environmental sustainability a pillar of sustainable development. Photocatalysis can be appraised as an upcoming prospect to solve the current crises as this process only requires inexhaustible solar energy from the Sun as a driving force. The photocatalysts play a vital role in photocatalytic process. However, the drawbacks of photocatalysts includes low light harvesting, sever charge recombination and sluggish surface catalytic kinetics due to its low photocatalytic activity. Thus, numerous efforts have been made towards developing a more efficient photocatalyst. The sacrificial reagent and catalyst must be added to various photocatalytic systems. After the addition of the sacrificial reagent, the charge recombination will be suppressed, and only half-reaction is required to be considered. It is easy to investigate the photocatalytic mechanism, yet, the exploration of new sacrificial reagent is rarely reported. Therefore, in this study, a new environmentally friendly, sacrificial reagent is developed and synthesised at low costs which aims to minimise environmental impact and reducing pollution from the source. The new sacrificial reagents were synthesised using green and withered leaves, and reflux under concentrated acid, base, and deionised water conditions. The metal-free photocatalyst - Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) is used as a model photocatalyst to test the effect of new synthesised sacrificial reagent in photocatalytic H2 evolution from water. Data obtained from the photocatalytic water splitting experiments showed that the new synthesised sacrificial reagents derived from green and withered leaves does enhance the photocatalytic efficiency and can be acknowledged as a potential candidate for large-scale as well as low-cost photocatalytic applications. Bachelor of Engineering (Materials Engineering) 2020-05-20T01:41:06Z 2020-05-20T01:41:06Z 2020 Final Year Project (FYP) https://hdl.handle.net/10356/139489 en application/pdf Nanyang Technological University
spellingShingle Engineering::Materials::Ecomaterials
Engineering::Materials::Energy materials
Sze, Sharon Pei Xuan
Preparation of a new Sacrificial Reagent through tree leaves and its photocatalytic HER and CO2 reductions performance
title Preparation of a new Sacrificial Reagent through tree leaves and its photocatalytic HER and CO2 reductions performance
title_full Preparation of a new Sacrificial Reagent through tree leaves and its photocatalytic HER and CO2 reductions performance
title_fullStr Preparation of a new Sacrificial Reagent through tree leaves and its photocatalytic HER and CO2 reductions performance
title_full_unstemmed Preparation of a new Sacrificial Reagent through tree leaves and its photocatalytic HER and CO2 reductions performance
title_short Preparation of a new Sacrificial Reagent through tree leaves and its photocatalytic HER and CO2 reductions performance
title_sort preparation of a new sacrificial reagent through tree leaves and its photocatalytic her and co2 reductions performance
topic Engineering::Materials::Ecomaterials
Engineering::Materials::Energy materials
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/139489
work_keys_str_mv AT szesharonpeixuan preparationofanewsacrificialreagentthroughtreeleavesanditsphotocatalyticherandco2reductionsperformance