Bombyx mori silk/titania/gold hybrid materials for photocatalytic water splitting: combining renewable raw materials with clean fuels.

ABSTRACT: The synthesis, structure, and photocatalytic water splitting performance of two new titania (TiO₂)/gold(Au)/Bombyx mori silk hybrid materials are reported. All materials are monoliths with diameters of up to ca. 4.5 cm. The materials are macroscopically homogeneous and porous with surface areas between 170 and 210 m²/g. The diameter of the TiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) - mainly anatase with a minor fraction of brookite - and the Au NPs are on the order of 5 and 7-18 nm, respectively. Addition of poly(ethylene oxide) to the reaction mixture enables pore size tuning, thus providing access to different materials with different photocatalytic activities. Water splitting experiments using a sunlight simulator and a Xe lamp show that the new hybrid materials ar

SUBMITTER: Kruger S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5789386 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature