Direct synthesis of sodium doped Cu₂O/GO nanocomposites for catalytic hydrogen production from NaBH₄

In this work, Cu₂O/GO doped Na nanocomposites were prepared via sol-gel auto-combustion procedure. The material structure was analysed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM). The crystal structure of the Cu₂O/GO, Cu_1.7Na_0.3O/GO and Cu_1.4Na_0.6O/GO nanocomposites was found to be cubic as evidenced by XRD patterns. The complexing of copper oxide and GO was confirmed by FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. ESEM micrographs showed that Cu₂O nanoparticles are integrated into GO nanosheets. The surface area of these nanocomposites decreased from 122 to 59 m²/g. The optical energy gap was found to decrease from 2.14 to 1.72 eV with increasing sodium content. The addition of sodium to Cu₂O/GO nanocomposites accelerated the hydrogen evolution from NaBH₄. The maximum rate of hydrogen (10,981 mL/g·min) was achieved for the Cu_1.4Na_0.6O/GO nanocomposite sample. These findings confirm that the prepared nanocomposites could be used as efficient hydrogen catalysts.