V2O5 Loaded Biomass Derived Activated Carbon Nanocomposites as a Bi-functional Catalyst for Photocatalytic Dye Degradation and Hydrogen Production /

Abstract

This research investigates the synthesis of hemp-derived biochar (BC) which is then activated with an activation agent KOH to achieve activated carbon (AC). Different compositions of V2O5 (5, 10, and 15 wt.%) were loaded over AC, and various characterization techniques were employed to investigate the physicochemical and photocatalytic performance of as-synthesized catalysts in dye degradation and H2 production. Under the sunlight, different loadings of 5%, 10%, and 15% of V2O5@AC were determined for the crystal violet (CV) photocatalytic dye degradation. Amongst all compositions, 5% V2O5@AC shows a maximum degradation efficiency of up to 99% and is the suitable candidate for the degradation of dyes where electrons (e- ) play a vital role in CV degradation during active radical trap test. Furthermore, photocatalytic H2 production was performed in a slurry-based reactor system. The result demonstrates the enhanced H2production rate (~889 µmol g-1h-1 in 180 min) due to the optimal photocatalytic performance of 5% V2O5@AC. The presence of an intrab and gap in 5% V2O5@AC suggests the presence of oxygen vacancy in the lattice that contributes to the photocatalytic performance by providing an alternative energy path to absorb maximum light ranging from visible to ultraviolet spectrum that will ultimately contribute to efficient electron transition and separation despite having wide bandgap.