{"title":"Eco-friendly synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles and ZnO@PVA nanofibers for enhanced hydrogen generation and CO2 conversion","authors":"Zarah Alqarni","doi":"10.1007/s10971-024-06630-3","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The demand for sustainable energy has accelerated the development of clean hydrogen production and CO<sub>2</sub> conversion into valuable products. This research explores the eco-friendly synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) utilizing <i>Calotropis procera</i> leaf extract, and their incorporation into polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers through electrospinning yielded composite nanomaterials with improved photocatalytic properties. Characterization using UV-Visible spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis confirmed the successful synthesis and structural integrity of the materials. The ZnO@PVA nanofibers exhibited a significant reduction in bandgap energy (2.85 eV) compared to ZnO NPs (3.35 eV), contributing to superior photocatalytic performance. The XRD analysis revealed that the average crystal sizes of the ZnO@PVA nanofibers and pure ZnO nanoparticles were 24 nm and 20 nm, respectively. Catalytic experiments demonstrated that ZnO@PVA nanofibers achieved a high CO<sub>2</sub> conversion rate of 97.54% and produced 16.28 mmol/g of hydrogen, outperforming ZnO NPs. These results (97.54% CO<sub>2</sub> conversion and 16.28 mmol/g hydrogen production) show that the green-synthesized nanoparticles have promising applications in sustainable energy and environmental remediation.</p><h3>Graphical Abstract</h3><div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":664,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology","volume":"113 3","pages":"970 - 984"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology","FirstCategoryId":"88","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10971-024-06630-3","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"MATERIALS SCIENCE, CERAMICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The demand for sustainable energy has accelerated the development of clean hydrogen production and CO2 conversion into valuable products. This research explores the eco-friendly synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) utilizing Calotropis procera leaf extract, and their incorporation into polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers through electrospinning yielded composite nanomaterials with improved photocatalytic properties. Characterization using UV-Visible spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis confirmed the successful synthesis and structural integrity of the materials. The ZnO@PVA nanofibers exhibited a significant reduction in bandgap energy (2.85 eV) compared to ZnO NPs (3.35 eV), contributing to superior photocatalytic performance. The XRD analysis revealed that the average crystal sizes of the ZnO@PVA nanofibers and pure ZnO nanoparticles were 24 nm and 20 nm, respectively. Catalytic experiments demonstrated that ZnO@PVA nanofibers achieved a high CO2 conversion rate of 97.54% and produced 16.28 mmol/g of hydrogen, outperforming ZnO NPs. These results (97.54% CO2 conversion and 16.28 mmol/g hydrogen production) show that the green-synthesized nanoparticles have promising applications in sustainable energy and environmental remediation.
期刊介绍:
The primary objective of the Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology (JSST), the official journal of the International Sol-Gel Society, is to provide an international forum for the dissemination of scientific, technological, and general knowledge about materials processed by chemical nanotechnologies known as the "sol-gel" process. The materials of interest include gels, gel-derived glasses, ceramics in form of nano- and micro-powders, bulk, fibres, thin films and coatings as well as more recent materials such as hybrid organic-inorganic materials and composites. Such materials exhibit a wide range of optical, electronic, magnetic, chemical, environmental, and biomedical properties and functionalities. Methods for producing sol-gel-derived materials and the industrial uses of these materials are also of great interest.