Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production Enhancement of NiTiO 3 Perovskite through Cobalt Incorporation

Alberto Bacilio Quispe Cohaila (), Elisban Juani Sacari Sacari (), Wilson Orlando Lanchipa Ramos, Rocío María Tamayo Calderón, Jesús Plácido Medina Salas, Francisco Gamarra Gómez, Ramalinga Viswanathan Mangalaraja and Saravanan Rajendran
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Alberto Bacilio Quispe Cohaila: Laboratorio de Generación y Almacenamiento de Hidrogeno, Facultad de Ingeniería, Escuela Profesional de Metalurgia y Materiales, Universidad Nacional Jorge Basadre Grohmann, Av. Miraflores s/n, Tacna 23003, Peru
Elisban Juani Sacari Sacari: Grupo de Investigación GIMAECC, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional Jorge Basadre Grohmann, Ciudad Universitaria, Av. Miraflores s/n, Tacna 23003, Peru
Wilson Orlando Lanchipa Ramos: Grupo de Investigación GIMAECC, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional Jorge Basadre Grohmann, Ciudad Universitaria, Av. Miraflores s/n, Tacna 23003, Peru
Rocío María Tamayo Calderón: Centro de Microscopia Electrónica, Facultad de Ingeniería de Procesos, Universidad Nacional de San Agustín, Arequipa 04001, Peru
Jesús Plácido Medina Salas: Grupo de Investigación GIMAECC, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional Jorge Basadre Grohmann, Ciudad Universitaria, Av. Miraflores s/n, Tacna 23003, Peru
Francisco Gamarra Gómez: Grupo de Investigación GIMAECC, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional Jorge Basadre Grohmann, Ciudad Universitaria, Av. Miraflores s/n, Tacna 23003, Peru
Ramalinga Viswanathan Mangalaraja: Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Diagonal las Torres 2640, Santiago 7940000, Chile
Saravanan Rajendran: Instituto de Alta Investigación, Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica 1000000, Chile

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 15, 1-17

Abstract: In this study, we synthesized pure and cobalt-doped NiTiO 3 perovskite nanostructures using a sol–gel method and characterized them to investigate the impact of cobalt incorporation on their photocatalytic hydrogen production under UV light. XRD analysis confirmed the formation of the hexagonal ilmenite structure, with lattice parameters increasing with cobalt doping, indicating the substitution of larger Co 2+ ions onto smaller Ni 2+ sites. Raman spectroscopy revealed a decrease in the intensity of active modes, suggesting crystal structure distortion and oxygen vacancy generation. UV-vis spectroscopy showed a decrease in bandgap energy from 2.24 to 2.16 eV with cobalt doping up to 5%, enhancing UV light absorption. SEM and TEM images revealed nanoparticle agglomeration, while cobalt doping did not significantly alter particle size up to 5% doping. Photoluminescence spectroscopy revealed an initial increase in PL intensity for NiTiO 3 -1%Co, followed by a systematic decrease with higher cobalt concentrations, with NiTiO 3 -10%Co exhibiting the lowest intensity. Photocatalytic experiments demonstrated a remarkable improvement in hydrogen evolution rate with increasing cobalt doping, with NiTiO 3 -10%Co exhibiting the highest rate of 940 μmol∙g −1 ·h −1 , a 60.4% increase compared to pure NiTiO 3 . This enhanced performance is attributed to the substitution of Co 2+ on Ni 2+ sites, the modification of electronic structure, the suppression of electron–hole recombination, and the creation of surface catalytic sites induced by cobalt incorporation. The proposed mechanism involves the introduction of Co 2+ /Co 3+ energy levels within the NiTiO 3 bandgap, facilitating charge separation and transfer, with the Co + /Co 2+ redox couple aiding in suppressing electron–hole recombination. These findings highlight the potential of cobalt doping to tune the properties of NiTiO 3 perovskite for efficient hydrogen production under UV light.

Keywords: NiTiO 3; hydrogen; photocatalysis; doping; cobalt (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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