New insights in the performance and reuse of rGO/TiO2 composites for the photocatalytic hydrogen production

Abstract The viability of the photocatalytic hydrogen production is closely related to the performance and long term stability of the photocatalyst. In this work rGO/TiO2 composites have been synthetized with graphene oxide (GO) ratios from 1% to 10% and experimentally assessed towards hydrogen generation from methanol solutions. The performance of the composite with 2% of rGO (2 GT) has been compared to bare TiO2 working with 20% volume methanol solution. The hydrogen production initial rate showed similar values with both photocatalysts decreasing after about 24 h. Further analysis of the photocatalytic process at longer times showed the negative influence of hydrogen accumulation in the reaction system. Thus, an experimental procedure with argon purge was developed and the behavior of TiO2 and 2 GT photocatalysts was compared. It is concluded that TiO2 keeps its activity after 8 operation cycles while 2 GT performance reduces progressively. This can be attributed to the further reduction of GO and the increase of defects in its structure.