Hydrogen catalytic performance of hybrid Fe3O4/FeS2/g-C3N4 nanocomposite structures

Alshammari, M. and Alhassan, S. and Alshammari, K. and Alotaibi, T. and Alshammari, A.H. and Alotibi, S. and Taha, T.A.M. and Ismael, A. (2023) Hydrogen catalytic performance of hybrid Fe3O4/FeS2/g-C3N4 nanocomposite structures. Diamond and Related Materials, 138: 110214. ISSN 0925-9635

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Abstract

In this work, Fe 3O 4/FeS 2/g-C 3N 4 nanocomposites were developed for catalytic hydrogen generation from sodium borohydride. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) were used to analyze these nanocomposites. The XRD diffraction peaks of Fe 3O 4 and FeS 2 cubic phase showed an average crystal size of calculation of 15 and 20 nm. ESEM micrographs showed a 2D broken up sheet structure having more edge sites. The BET surface areas for S@g-C 3N 4, 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 wt% Fe 3O 4/FeS 2 were 40, 109, 137 and 162 m 2/g, respectively. Even though Fe 3O 4/FeS 2 were incorporated into the nanosheet, the pore size was increased from 2.0 to 2.15 nm. S@g-C 3N 4 has an average band gap of 2.60 eV that decreased to 2.30, 2.21 and 2.18 eV at 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 wt% of FeS 2. In addition, Fe 3O 4/FeS 2/g-C 3N 4 nanosheets showed an emission band at 460 nm. Moreover, the intensity of this band decreased as the content of Fe 3O 4/FeS 2 reached 3.0 wt%. The rate of hydrogen production is accelerated as the percentage of Fe 3O 4/FeS 2 increased from 1.0 to 3.0 wt%. The sample 3.0 wt% Fe 3O 4/FeS 2 showed the best rate of hydrogen production (8480 mL/g·min).