Highly-efficient photocatalytic activity of TiO2-AC nanocomposites for hydrogen production from sulphide wastewater

Photocatalytic water splitting is one of the prospective green energy technologies, particularly, for hydrogen production from wastewater under natural sunlight irradiation. Herein, we report experimental data on the synthesis and characteristics of the biomass activated carbon (b-AC)-anchored anatase titanium oxide (a-TiO 2 ) nanocomposites, which were ultrasonically prepared by using the sol-gel-grown a-TiO 2 spherical nanoparticles and the KOH-activated citron-derived b-AC nanoflakes. The a-TiO 2 /b-AC nanocomposites displayed an aggregated morphology with the interconnected spherical nanoparticles, and they showed a high surface area (495 m 2 /g). When using a-TiO 2 /b-AC as a photocatalyst for hydrogen production from sulphide wastewater (0.15 M) under solar irradiation (740 W/m 2 ), the superb hydrogen production efficiency was achieved up to 400 mL/h. The results suggest the a-TiO 2 /b-AC nanocomposites to hold an ample potential for photocatalytic hydrogen production from the wastewater. • TiO 2 -AC nanocomposites were prepared by ultrasonication of TiO 2 and AC. • TiO 2 -AC showed an aggregated morphology with the mesoporous characteristics. • TiO 2 -AC exhibited the hybridized molecular structures with TiO 2 and AC. • Hybridization of TiO 2 -AC enhances the photocatalytic reaction for H 2 production.