Abstract:
Ni-Cu and Ni-Pd decorated aluminotitanate (Al2TiO5) nanocomposites have been
synthesized by co-precipitation using ammonia gas diffusion method at room
temperature followed by drying, calcination and grinding. With the help of techniques
such as drop casting and spin coating, FTO substrates based thin films were obtained
and tested for photoelectrochemical splitting of water utilizing light acquired from solar
sources. The synthesized metal decorated nanocomposites have been characterized by
BET, X-ray diffraction and UV-vis analysis. The surface morphology and elemental
composition of the nanocomposites has been determined by electron microscopy, and
X-ray energy scattering spectroscopic analysis. The energy of band gap is calculated as
2.36eV for Ni-Pd@Al2TiO5 and 2.51eV, 3.38 eV for Ni-Cu@Al2TiO5 thin films. The
water splitting activity of catalysts was measured by LSV in a three electrode system
having neon lamp as a source of illumination. The possibility of multiple inorganic
nanocomposite photocatalysts synthesis is proved to be attainable through this study
for increased stability and better solar light capturing.
