Visible—Light Driven Systems: Effect of the Parameters Affecting Hydrogen Production through Photoreforming of Organics in Presence of Cu2O/TiO2 Nanocomposite Photocatalyst
, Laura Clarizia 1,*, Marco Race 2, Roberto Andreozzi 1, Raffaele Marotta 1 and Ilaria Di Somma 3
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
This study includes ball milling alternative methodology for photocatalyst preparation. To optimize photocatalytic hydrogen generation in the presence of the greatest photocatalyst, the effects of (i) sacrificial species and their concentration, (ii) temperature, and (iii) pH of the system are taken into account, resulting in a light-to-chemical energy efficiency of 8% under the best-tested conditions.
However, some critical issues remain to be solved and a thorough revision was needed:
1. The introduction should be clarified in terms of uniqueness and advantage what is the novelty of this work over the previous related work, and cite the following references: J. Mol. Struct. 1258 (2022) 132679.
2. On what basis the authors chose this particular composite. Did they check for others?
3. The authors should make pore volume and surface area. BET analysis is important?
4. The authors should make reusability and comparison with literature. Cite the following references: Appl. Organomet. Chem. 36 (2022) e6660.
5. The manuscript needs thorough revision to improve the text quality and readability of the work.
Author Response
Reviewer 1
This study includes ball milling alternative methodology for photocatalyst preparation. To optimize photocatalytic hydrogen generation in the presence of the greatest photocatalyst, the effects of (i) sacrificial species and their concentration, (ii) temperature, and (iii) pH of the system are taken into account, resulting in a light-to-chemical energy efficiency of 8% under the best-tested conditions.
However, some critical issues remain to be solved and a thorough revision was needed:
Point 1. The introduction should be clarified in terms of uniqueness and advantage what is the novelty of this work over the previous related work, and cite the following references: J. Mol. Struct. 1258 (2022) 132679.
Response 1. We thank the reviewer for the comment. We have improved the introduction accordingly, but we have chosen to not report the proposed reference, which is not related to the main topic of our research.
Point 2. On what basis the authors chose this particular composite. Did they check for others?
Response 2. We thank the reviewer for the comment. Yes, in our previous studies, we have studied different materials, such as metal-based photocatalysts (copper-tio2, palladium-tio2 etc.). In this case, we have chosen to optimize the system in the presence of a heterojunction material (i.e., Cu2O-TiO2), able to extend the light adsorption under the visible light range. The reason is based on the study of the recent literature findings, in which this kind of composite material is used (see our previous review article: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2020.07.225).
Point 3. The authors should make pore volume and surface area. BET analysis is important?
Response 3. We thank the reviewer for his/her comment. We have added this information in the text (line 115-116).
Point 4. The authors should make reusability and comparison with literature. Cite the following references: Appl. Organomet. Chem. 36 (2022) e6660.
Response 4. We thank the reviewer for the comment. We have added information about the reusability of the material in the text and considered the proposed reference.
Point 5. The manuscript needs thorough revision to improve the text quality and readability of the work.
Response 5. We thank the reviewer for the comment. We have improved the text accordingly.
Reviewer 2 Report
This work can be accepted after minor revision
1- line 142: Hydrogen estimation is carried out as reported elsewhere [43,45]... reference 44 is a methyl orange dye photodegradation reference and is not hydrogen production.
2- what is the gap energy of your material ? uv-drs analysis is necessary for your material
3- what about regeneration of material?
4- the experimental conditions of the different effects must be added in the "Photocatalytic tests and analytical determination" section : Effect of the sacrificial agent, Effect of organic concentration...
Author Response
Reviewer 2
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
This work can be accepted after minor revision
Point 1. line 142: Hydrogen estimation is carried out as reported elsewhere [43,45]... reference 44 is a methyl orange dye photodegradation reference and is not hydrogen production.
Response 1. We thank the reviewer for the comment. We apologize for the mistake, and we have modified the references accordingly. Reference 44 is referred to the use of the cut-off filter, which is not related just to hydrogen production.
Point 2. What is the gap energy of your material? uv-drs analysis is necessary for your material
Response 2. We thank the reviewer for his/her comment. We have specified the calculated band gap in the revised manuscript, modifying the experimental part accordingly.
Point 3. what about regeneration of material?
Response 3. We thank the reviewer for the comment. We have added information about the reusability of the material in the text.
Point 4. the experimental conditions of the different effects must be added in the "Photocatalytic tests and analytical determination" section: Effect of the sacrificial agent, Effect of organic concentration...
Response 4. We thank the reviewer for the comment. We have modified the text accordingly.
