Microwave Synthesis of CuNi/TiO2 Nanotubes for Enhanced Photocatalytic H2 Generation.

Microwave-assisted synthesis offers several advantages over conventional methods, including shorter reaction times and more efficient heating in systems containing polar solvents such as water or ethanol. These features can be exploited to prepare and modify active photocatalysts for H2-production reactions, allowing precise tuning of composition and final properties of the solids and boosting their performance. In this work, the modification of TiO2 nanotube arrays with Cu and Ni was explored using a microwave-assisted methodology. The modified materials displayed an H2 production rate of 1.427 µmol H2.h-1.cm-2, corresponding to a 14-fold increase relative to the original TiO2 nanotube arrays, with a partial retention of the activity after four cycles of operation. These results highlight the importance of alternative synthesis methods to achieve more effective modification of photocatalytic systems and demonstrate the promising role of non-noble metals in developing more sustainable and accessible technologies for green hydrogen production.