KW-GO, a graphene-like carbon extracted from kitchen waste (KW) advances the hydrogen production of V₂O₅

In this paper, graphene-like carbon (KW-GO) extracted from kitchen waste (KW) is used to reduce the agglomeration of V2O5 and improve the separation rate of photogenerated electron-hole pairs from V2O5. We found that the V2O5-KW-GO composite material (VKW-GO) could significantly enhance the photocatalytic activity and H-2 production rate under visible light irradiation compared to pure V2O5. To analyze the composition and morphology of the materials, XRD, SEM, BET, UV-Vis, XPS, and Raman were measured. The results showed that the addition of KW-GO reduced the aggregation of V2O5 powder. At the same time, the specific surface area of the composite sample increased providing more active sites for photocatalytic hydrogen production. In addition, the visible absorption range of the composite sample also increased. As a result, the hydrogen production rate of V2O5 increased from 247.52 mol h(-1) g(-1) to 354.15 mol h(-1) g(-1). The method using V2O5 and VKW-GO as a catalyst for H-2 production is innovative, and the conclusion may provide important theoretical guidance for photocatalytic hydrogen production. (C) 2021 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.