Methylene Blue Dye as Photosensitizer for Scavenger-Less Water Photo Splitting: New Insight in Green Hydrogen Technology

In this study, hydrogen generation was performed by utilizing methylene blue dye as visible-light photosensitizer while the used catalyst is working as a transfer bridge for the electrons to H(+)/H(2) reaction. Silica NPs-incorporated TiO(2) nanofibers, which have a more significant band gap and longer electrons lifetime compared to pristine TiO(2), were used as a catalyst. The nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning of amorphous SiO(2) NPs/titanium isopropoxide/poly (vinyl acetate)/N, N-dimethylformamide colloid. Physicochemical characterizations confirmed the preparation of well morphology SiO(2)–TiO(2) nanofibers with a bandgap energy of 3.265 eV. Under visible light radiation, hydrogen and oxygen were obtained in good stoichiometric rates (9.5 and 4.7 mL/min/gcat, respectively) without any considerable change in the dye concentration, which proves the successful exploitation of the dye as a photosensitizer. Under UV irradiation, SiO(2) NPs incorporation distinctly enhanced the dye photodegradation, as around 91 and 94% removal efficiency were obtained from TiO(2) nanofibers containing 4 and 6 wt% of the used dopant, respectively, within 60 min.