@article {48980,
	title = {Facile one-pot synthesis of Cu x O/TiO2 photocatalysts by regulating Cu oxidation state for efficient solar H2 production},
	journal = {ACS Applied Energy Materials },
	volume = {7},
	year = {2023},
	month = {DEC },
	pages = {104-116},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {<p>
	Development of highly efficient CuxO/TiO2 photocatalysts by regulating the oxidation state of Cu exclusively in either single or mixed oxidation state(s) is desirable but difficult to achieve without employing any external reagents. The present work describes a one-pot synthesis strategy to obtain CuxO/TiO2 photocatalysts with Cu in +1 and/or +2 by using a suitable combination of ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA) and ethylene diamine, carefully varying the Cu content, and heat treatment process. CuxO/TiO2 nanocomposite catalysts were characterized thoroughly by physicochemical methods. Textural analysis indicates a high dispersion of CuxO on porous TiO2 with p-n heterojunctions between them in CuxO/TiO2 catalysts. UV-visible spectral analysis suggests the presence of CuxO on TiO2 with significantly extended absorption from the UV to the visible region. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicates a strong synergetic interaction between TiO2 and CuxO due to the comparable CB potential and p-n heterojunction at the interface among them. Photoelectrochemical studies demonstrate excellent charge-carrier separation efficiency, low charge-transfer resistance, and high double-layer capacitance with Cu2O/TiO2 photocatalysts. Photocatalytic efficacy of a CuxO/TiO2 nanocomposite in thin-film form has been demonstrated for solar hydrogen generation in sunlight. The incorporation of Cu+ in TiO2 largely improves the H-2 production, and all of the CuxO/TiO2 nanocomposites in thin-film form exhibited higher efficiency compared to their particulate/suspension counterpart. Among the composite catalysts, TiCu-1 in thin-film form, with Cu exclusively in +1 oxidation state, exhibited a high hydrogen production rate of 7.06 mmol/hg, which is 6 times higher than its suspension counterpart; also catalysts containing mixed Cu-oxidation states exhibited about 60-70\% activity as that of TiCu-1. The superior performance of Cu2O/TiO2 nanocomposites in thin-film form was due to their enhanced light harvesting ability, high mass transfer rate, and easy accessibility of the reactant species to the active sites.</p>
},
	keywords = {heterojunction, Photocatalysis, Solar hydrogen, thin film, titania},
	issn = {2574-0962},
	doi = {10.1021/acsaem.3c02272},
	author = {Rajendran, Sivaraj and Mani, Sunesh S. and Nivedhitha, Thazhath R. and Asoka, Anantha Krishnan and Arun, Pushkaran S. and Mathew, Thomas and Gopinath, Chinnakonda S.}
}
@article {49706,
	title = {Mesoporous Fe2O3-TiO2 integrated with plasmonic Ag nanoparticles for enhanced solar H2 production},
	journal = {Chemistry-An Asian Journal},
	volume = {20},
	year = {2025},
	month = {MAY},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {<p>
	Present work describes a sol-gel assisted one-pot synthesis of mesoporous Fe2O3-TiO2 nanocomposites (TiFe) with different Ti : Fe ratios, and fabrication of Ag-integrated with TiFe nanocomposites (TiFeAg) by a chemical reduction method and demonstrated for high solar H2 generation activity in direct sunlight. Enhanced solar H2 production is attributed to the light absorption from entire UV+Visible region of solar spectrum combined with Schottky (Ag-semiconductor) and heterojunctions (TiO2-Fe2O3), as evidenced from HRTEM and various characterization studies. TiFeAg-2 thin film (1 wt \% Ag-loaded TiFe-4) displayed the highest activity with a solar H2 yield of 7.64 mmol h-1g-1, which is 48 times higher than that of bare TiO2 and 5 times higher in thin film form compared to its powder counterpart. Schottky and heterojunctions formed at the interface efficiently separate the charge carriers and increase the hydrogen production activity. The highest H2 production activity of TiFeAg-2 is partly attributed to the heterogeneous distribution of Fe3+ and metallic Ag-species with relatively high Ag/Ti surface atomic ratio. A plausible photocatalytic reaction mechanism on TiFeAg nanocomposite may involve the direct electron transfer from both Fe2O3 and TiO2 to Ag nanoparticles which are subsequently utilized for the reduction of H+ to H2.</p>
},
	keywords = {energy conversion, green hydrogen, Photocatalysis, Solar harvesting, water splitting},
	issn = {1861-4728},
	doi = {10.1002/asia.202401664},
	author = {Mani, Sunesh S. and Rajendran, Sivaraj and Saju, Simi and Babu, Bindhya M. and Mathew, Thomas and Gopinath, Chinnakonda S.}
}
