Nano-fibrillated cellulose (NFC) as versatile carriers of TiO2 nanoparticles (TNPs) for photocatalytic hydrogen generation

Nano-fibrillated cellulose (NFC), an abundant natural biomacromolecule, can have many applications, such as support/ carrier for nanoparticles, due to its unique properties. Herein, NFC is used as a versatile carrier of TiO2 nanoparticles (TNPs) to enhance their performance during the photocatalytic hydrogen generation process for the first time. The NFC-TNPs composite exhibited an enhanced hydrogen generation capacity compared to the control TNPs samples. The NFC-TNPs composite was characterized by TEM, XRD, XPS, FTIR, and Raman spectra techniques. The results showed that TNPs were uniformly loaded on the surface of NFC. A photocatalytic activity study showed that the NFC-TNPs composite had a 2-5 times higher photocatalytic hydrogen generation rate in comparison with the control TNPs sample. This facile and effective process will broaden the application of nanocellulose in the photocatalysis field.