Bio-assisted nanophotocatalyst for hydrogen production
Friday, August 9, 2013 - 07:50
in Physics & Chemistry
A protein found in the membranes of ancient microorganisms that live in desert salt flats could offer a new way of using sunlight to generate environmentally friendly hydrogen fuel. Researchers in the Nanobio Interfaces and Nanophotonics groups at Argonne National Laboratory combined the light-harvesting proton pump bacteriorhodopsin (bR) on a Pt/TiO2 nanocatalyst for visible light-driven hydrogen generation. The platinum nanocatalyst matrix is comprised of bR and 4 nm Pt(0) nanoparticles photodeposited on the surface of 25-nm TiO2 nanoparticles. Photoelectrochemical and transient absorption studies indicate efficient charge transfer between bR protein molecules and titania nanoparticles.