Plasma-assisted synthesis of Ag/ZnO nanocomposites: First example of photo-induced H2 production and sensing

Quentin Simon; Davide Barreca; Daniela Bekermann; Alberto Gasparotto; Chiara MacCato; Elisabetta Comini; Valentina Gombac; Paolo Fornasiero; Oleg I. Lebedev; Stuart Turner; Anjana Devi; Roland A. Fischer; Gustaaf Van Tendeloo

doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2011.09.045

Plasma-assisted synthesis of Ag/ZnO nanocomposites: First example of photo-induced H₂ production and sensing

Quentin Simon, Davide Barreca, Daniela Bekermann, Alberto Gasparotto, Chiara MacCato, Elisabetta Comini, Valentina Gombac, Paolo Fornasiero, Oleg I. Lebedev, Stuart Turner, Anjana Devi, Roland A. Fischer, Gustaaf Van Tendeloo

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

83 Scopus citations

Abstract

Ag/ZnO nanocomposites were developed by a plasma-assisted approach. The adopted strategy exploits the advantages of Plasma Enhanced-Chemical Vapor Deposition (PE-CVD) for the growth of columnar ZnO arrays on Si(100) and Al ₂O₃ substrates, in synergy with the infiltration power of the Radio Frequency (RF)-sputtering technique for the subsequent dispersion of different amounts of Ag nanoparticles (NPs). The resulting composites, both as-prepared and after annealing in air, were thoroughly characterized with particular attention on their morphological organization, structure and composition. For the first time, the above systems have been used as catalysts in the production of hydrogen by photo-reforming of alcoholic solutions, yielding a stable H₂ evolution even by the sole use of simulated solar radiation. In addition, Ag/ZnO nanocomposites presented an excellent response in the gas-phase detection of H₂, opening attractive perspectives for advanced technological applications.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	15527-15537
Number of pages	11
Journal	International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
Volume	36
Issue number	24
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2011.09.045
State	Published - Dec 2011
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Ag
Hydrogen production
Hydrogen sensing
PE-CVD
RF-Sputtering
ZnO

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1016/j.ijhydene.2011.09.045

Cite this

Simon, Q., Barreca, D., Bekermann, D., Gasparotto, A., MacCato, C., Comini, E., Gombac, V., Fornasiero, P., Lebedev, O. I., Turner, S., Devi, A., Fischer, R. A., & Van Tendeloo, G. (2011). Plasma-assisted synthesis of Ag/ZnO nanocomposites: First example of photo-induced H₂ production and sensing. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 36(24), 15527-15537. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2011.09.045

@article{77a784926d524a18bd1c8a008f042fe0,

title = "Plasma-assisted synthesis of Ag/ZnO nanocomposites: First example of photo-induced H2 production and sensing",

abstract = "Ag/ZnO nanocomposites were developed by a plasma-assisted approach. The adopted strategy exploits the advantages of Plasma Enhanced-Chemical Vapor Deposition (PE-CVD) for the growth of columnar ZnO arrays on Si(100) and Al 2O3 substrates, in synergy with the infiltration power of the Radio Frequency (RF)-sputtering technique for the subsequent dispersion of different amounts of Ag nanoparticles (NPs). The resulting composites, both as-prepared and after annealing in air, were thoroughly characterized with particular attention on their morphological organization, structure and composition. For the first time, the above systems have been used as catalysts in the production of hydrogen by photo-reforming of alcoholic solutions, yielding a stable H2 evolution even by the sole use of simulated solar radiation. In addition, Ag/ZnO nanocomposites presented an excellent response in the gas-phase detection of H2, opening attractive perspectives for advanced technological applications.",

keywords = "Ag, Hydrogen production, Hydrogen sensing, PE-CVD, RF-Sputtering, ZnO",

author = "Quentin Simon and Davide Barreca and Daniela Bekermann and Alberto Gasparotto and Chiara MacCato and Elisabetta Comini and Valentina Gombac and Paolo Fornasiero and Lebedev, {Oleg I.} and Stuart Turner and Anjana Devi and Fischer, {Roland A.} and {Van Tendeloo}, Gustaaf",

note = "Funding Information: These research activities have received funding from the European Community{\textquoteright}s 6th Framework Program ( FP7/2002-2006 , grant agreement n° Integrated Infrastructure Initiative, 026019, ESTEEM) and 7th Framework Program ( FP7/2007-2013 , grant agreement n° ENHANCE-238409). COFIN-PRIN 2008 , Padova University PRAT 2008/2010 , Trieste University , Fondazione CRTrieste , Regione Lombardia-INSTM PICASSO and Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia IDROBIM projects are also acknowledged for financial support. S.T. gratefully acknowledges the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO). The Titan microscope used in this study was partially financed by the Hercules Foundation . Dr. Ke Xu and Manish Banerjee (Ruhr-University Bochum) are gratefully acknowledged for technical assistance in the Zn precursor synthesis. ",

year = "2011",

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doi = "10.1016/j.ijhydene.2011.09.045",

language = "English",

volume = "36",

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Simon, Q, Barreca, D, Bekermann, D, Gasparotto, A, MacCato, C, Comini, E, Gombac, V, Fornasiero, P, Lebedev, OI, Turner, S, Devi, A, Fischer, RA & Van Tendeloo, G 2011, 'Plasma-assisted synthesis of Ag/ZnO nanocomposites: First example of photo-induced H₂ production and sensing', International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 36, no. 24, pp. 15527-15537. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2011.09.045

TY - JOUR

T1 - Plasma-assisted synthesis of Ag/ZnO nanocomposites

T2 - First example of photo-induced H2 production and sensing

AU - Simon, Quentin

AU - Barreca, Davide

AU - Bekermann, Daniela

AU - Gasparotto, Alberto

AU - MacCato, Chiara

AU - Comini, Elisabetta

AU - Gombac, Valentina

AU - Fornasiero, Paolo

AU - Lebedev, Oleg I.

AU - Turner, Stuart

AU - Devi, Anjana

AU - Fischer, Roland A.

AU - Van Tendeloo, Gustaaf

N1 - Funding Information: These research activities have received funding from the European Community’s 6th Framework Program ( FP7/2002-2006 , grant agreement n° Integrated Infrastructure Initiative, 026019, ESTEEM) and 7th Framework Program ( FP7/2007-2013 , grant agreement n° ENHANCE-238409). COFIN-PRIN 2008 , Padova University PRAT 2008/2010 , Trieste University , Fondazione CRTrieste , Regione Lombardia-INSTM PICASSO and Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia IDROBIM projects are also acknowledged for financial support. S.T. gratefully acknowledges the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO). The Titan microscope used in this study was partially financed by the Hercules Foundation . Dr. Ke Xu and Manish Banerjee (Ruhr-University Bochum) are gratefully acknowledged for technical assistance in the Zn precursor synthesis.

PY - 2011/12

Y1 - 2011/12

N2 - Ag/ZnO nanocomposites were developed by a plasma-assisted approach. The adopted strategy exploits the advantages of Plasma Enhanced-Chemical Vapor Deposition (PE-CVD) for the growth of columnar ZnO arrays on Si(100) and Al 2O3 substrates, in synergy with the infiltration power of the Radio Frequency (RF)-sputtering technique for the subsequent dispersion of different amounts of Ag nanoparticles (NPs). The resulting composites, both as-prepared and after annealing in air, were thoroughly characterized with particular attention on their morphological organization, structure and composition. For the first time, the above systems have been used as catalysts in the production of hydrogen by photo-reforming of alcoholic solutions, yielding a stable H2 evolution even by the sole use of simulated solar radiation. In addition, Ag/ZnO nanocomposites presented an excellent response in the gas-phase detection of H2, opening attractive perspectives for advanced technological applications.

AB - Ag/ZnO nanocomposites were developed by a plasma-assisted approach. The adopted strategy exploits the advantages of Plasma Enhanced-Chemical Vapor Deposition (PE-CVD) for the growth of columnar ZnO arrays on Si(100) and Al 2O3 substrates, in synergy with the infiltration power of the Radio Frequency (RF)-sputtering technique for the subsequent dispersion of different amounts of Ag nanoparticles (NPs). The resulting composites, both as-prepared and after annealing in air, were thoroughly characterized with particular attention on their morphological organization, structure and composition. For the first time, the above systems have been used as catalysts in the production of hydrogen by photo-reforming of alcoholic solutions, yielding a stable H2 evolution even by the sole use of simulated solar radiation. In addition, Ag/ZnO nanocomposites presented an excellent response in the gas-phase detection of H2, opening attractive perspectives for advanced technological applications.

KW - Ag

KW - Hydrogen production

KW - Hydrogen sensing

KW - PE-CVD

KW - RF-Sputtering

KW - ZnO

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DO - 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2011.09.045

M3 - Article

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JO - International Journal of Hydrogen Energy

JF - International Journal of Hydrogen Energy

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