BOROPHENE: AN INNOVATIVE 2D NANOMATERIAL IN THE TRANSFORMATION OF BIOMASS INTO GREEN HYDROGEN
Borophene; Synthesis; Photoeletrocatalytic hydrogen; Niobium; Renewable Energy.
The growing need for sustainable and efficient energy sources has triggered an intense search for innovative materials that can revolutionize energy conversion. In this context, borophene emerges as an extremely promising two-dimensional material, with extraordinary properties. The growing and significant energy demand based on clean and abundant renewable energy requires innovative techniques for this production. Photoelectrocatalysis holds great promise for enabling renewable energies such as solar and wind to overcome the transient nature of their energy production. Potential applications of borophene with possible adjustments such as doping and heterostructures have been highlighted as techniques for improving the capacity of individualized materials. The heterojunction allows the control of several parameters involving semiconductors, such as the band gap, and effective mass and charge mobility. Niobium is a mineral considered strategic for the energy transition, taken from Pyrochlore and Columbite-Tantalite, and Brazil stands out as the world's largest producer of this reserve. The development of electrodes containing these materials is the innovative key to improving a technique that is still little known in the literature; photoelectrocatalysis. This can be used to promote the conversion of organic matter into green hydrogen. Hydrogen energy, ecological compatibility and its high energy density make it the main sustainable energy source for the future. Therefore, producing hydrogen from biomass through a sustainable route could be the future path we all aspire to. To this end, borophene heterostructures with niobium in the preparation of photoanodes will be used to convert biomass into green hydrogen by photoelectrocatalysis. The photoelectrodes will be characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Raman Spectroscopy, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Band gap and electrochemical characterizations. In hydrogen production, Electroanalytical Techniques, as well as Cyclic Voltammetry and Differential Pulse Voltammetry will be used.