Abstract:
The development of effective photocatalysts has become more crucial in the quest of eco friendly options for environmental remediation and renewable energy generation. Using
biomass as an initial source for these materials is a possible method to tackle the two-fold
problems of waste management and resource scarcity. In this work, hemp-derived biochar
(BC) was synthesized and then activated with KOH to achieve activated carbon (AC). The
Se (1, 3, 5 wt.%) was loaded over AC and characterized using various techniques to
investigate the physicochemical, electrochemical, and photocatalytic performance for dye
degradation and H2 generation. BC, AC, and the influence of different loading of Se (1wt%,
3wt%, 5wt%) were examined for the degradation of crystal violet (CV) dye under the
sunlight. Amongst 3% Se-AC showed the maximum degradation efficiency (98.2%) of CV
dye within 75 mins and the electrons (e-
) had a major contribution to the degradation of
CV during the active radical trap test. The photocatalytic H2 production performance was
tested and the maximum H2 rate 3095 µmol/g/h and AQY 40.6% were achieved for 3%
Se-AC. The post-reaction characterization showed competitive stability. A possible
mechanism was proposed and it is suggested that the Se loading played a key role in charge transfer enhancement due to high polarizability, d-electron richness, and its bond energy with hydrogen atoms (Se-Hads is 273 kJ/mol) is comparable to the platinum (Pt) (Pt-Hads is 251 kJ/mol).
