dc.contributor.author | Curtis, Isabel | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2021-12-13T14:29:21Z | |
dc.date.available | 2021-12-13T14:29:21Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2021-12-13T14:29:21Z | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10222/81074 | |
dc.description.abstract | Solar-driven hydrogen (H2) production from water (water splitting) by semiconductor photocatalysts has potential as a sustainable and cost-competitive alternative to current H2 production technologies. In recent years, mesoporous silicon (mp-Si) nanoparticles (NPs) have been recognized as promising photocatalysts for H2 generation. To explore the influence of the synthetic conditions on their catalytic activity, mp-Si NPs were prepared by magnesiothermic reduction while varying the annealing temperature and time. These conditions were found to affect both the crystallinity and amount of oxygen present in the mp-Si NPs. The effect of porosity on the catalytic activity of mp-Si was investigated using porous SiO2 precursors with varying pore size, which influenced the pore sizes in the mp-Si formed. The results in this thesis suggest that high crystallinity improves the performance of mp-Si photocatalysts, while high amounts of oxygen due to incomplete reduction or surface oxidation have a deleterious effect. | en_US |
dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
dc.subject | Chemistry | en_US |
dc.subject | Materials | en_US |
dc.title | Mesoporous Silicon Nanoparticles for Solar-Driven Hydrogen Generation from Water | en_US |
dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
dc.date.defence | 2021-11-30 | |
dc.contributor.department | Department of Chemistry | en_US |
dc.contributor.degree | Master of Science | en_US |
dc.contributor.external-examiner | n/a | en_US |
dc.contributor.graduate-coordinator | Peng Zhang | en_US |
dc.contributor.thesis-reader | Michael Freund | en_US |
dc.contributor.thesis-reader | Mark Stradiotto | en_US |
dc.contributor.thesis-reader | Peng Zhang | en_US |
dc.contributor.thesis-supervisor | Mita Dasog | en_US |
dc.contributor.ethics-approval | Not Applicable | en_US |
dc.contributor.manuscripts | Yes | en_US |
dc.contributor.copyright-release | Not Applicable | en_US |