Producing Hydrogen Energy Using Cr2O3-TiO2 Nanocomposite with Animal (Chitosan) Extract via Photocatalaysis

Abstract

      In this study, an efficient photocatalyst for water splitting was developed. The Cr₂O₃ and TiO₂ nanoparticles (Cr₂O₃-TNPs) nanocomposite with (Chitosan extract) was created using ecologically friendly methods, such as the impregnation technique as TiO₂ exhibits nano spherical (TNPs) shape structure. According to the researchers, this nanocomposite material enhanced its ability to absorb ultraviolet light while also speeding up the recombination of photogenerated electrons and holes. The TNPs and prepared Cr₂O₃-TNPs were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and UV-visible absorbance. The XRD of TNPs showed a Tetragonal phase with 8.9 nm of average crystallite size and 14.2 nm for nanocomposite. FE-SEM images showed that the average particle size in the range of (12.5-57.5) nm and UV-VIS absorbance has energy gap of 3.8 eV, while the energy gap of Cr₂O₃-TNPs is 2.8 eV. It was found that the performance of photocatalysts of the nanocomposite for hydrogen generation was superior. It gave the highest rate of hydrogen production (3.6) ml at 80 min when exposed to ultraviolet light. Moreover, the nanocomposite revealed high H₂ production rate under ultraviolt light irradiation (λ < 400 nm). The Cr₂O₃-TNps have high photocatalytic effectiveness due to their wide ultraviolt light photoresponse range and excellent separation of photogenerated electrons and holes.