Ag-Doped WO3 Nanoplates as Heterogenous Multifunctional Catalyst for Glycerol Acetylation, Electrocatalytic and Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production

Herein, we report a hydrothermal method to synthesize pristine and Ag-doped WO3 nanoplates and study their multifunctional competence in the accomplishment of enhanced catalytic organic conversion and highly efficient photocatalytic and electrocatalytic H2 evolution reactions. The as-synthesized nanoplates were characterized by using various techniques including X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, transmission electron microscopy, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and BET surface area studies. The significant catalytic performance was shown by 1% Ag-doped WO3 nanoplates with 100% glycerol conversion and 90% triacetin selectivity. The photocatalytic activity was also examined toward water splitting H2 evolution reaction which demonstrates the highest H2 evolution of 12.06 mmol g–1 catalyst for 1% Ag-doped WO3 nanoplates in a time span of 8 h. Moreover, the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction was also monitored in acidic media (0.1 M H2SO4) which demonstrates good results for 1% Ag-doped WO3 nanoplates with a low overpotential of 0.53 V and a low Tafel slope of 40 mV dec–1.