Preparação e caracterização de filmes nanoestruturados suportados em membrana de celulose contendo nanopartículas de Au e TiO2 para produção de H2

Abstract

The search for renewable energy sources is a subject of great interest worldwide due to growing energy demand, instability in oil prices and environmental problems. In this context, the self-assembled thin films have gained special attention due to numerous applications, among them the construction of photovoltaic energy generating materials and photoluminescent. Therefore, the main objective of this work was to prepare and characterize thin films produced by layer-by-layer (LbL) supported on bacterial cellulose (BC) using the weak polyelectrolyte polyallylamine hydrochloride (PAH) and poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) combined with titanium dioxide (TiO2) and gold nanoparticles (Au NPs), in order to produce flexible devices capable of producing hydrogen gas (H2) by photocatalysis. The absorbance of the solutions regions of tetrachloroauric acid (HAuCl4) and TiO2 were determined by molecular absorption spectroscopy in the ultraviolet and visible (UV-Vis). Through the techniques of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was possible to check the surface and the characteristic bands of cellulose, respectively. Through the technique of X-ray diffraction (XRD), we calculated the mean crystallite size of TiO2 that was ~ 5 nm. In films, the presence of Au NPs was confirmed by UV-Vis and XRD. For micrographs were able to evaluate the surface of the films produced containing TiO2 and gold salt. Confirmation of the presence of inorganic materials in the films was performed by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and mapping points (MP). The morphology and distribution of Au NPs in the films produced were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed values in the nanometer range. Finally, the films reduced by the UV light was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) to evaluate the production of H2 and one that is more efficient film was {(PAH + TiO2)4.0 (1:1)/PAA4,0}21, which showed greater interaction with TiO2 during the deposition process of the multilayer.