Constructing MAX dispersed Ni₂P/TiO₂ nanocomposite with investigating influential effect of parameters through design expert and kinetic study for photocatalytic H₂ evolution

Well-designed Ni₂P/TiO₂ nanoparticles dispersed over 2D Ti₃AlC₂ MAX, were investigated for H₂ evolution with parameter optimization and kinetic modelling in a liquid phase slurry photoreactor. The highest H₂ production rate of 1300 µmol was obtained over MAX dispersed Ni₂P/TiO₂ nanocomposite. The H₂ production was observed to be 3.80 times more than the H₂ generated by pristine TiO₂, based on the inhibited charge recombination, improved visible light response, and good redox potential of TiO₂. The sacrificial reagents, catalyst loading, and reaction time were optimized through the design of experiment (DoE). The results revealed 10.5 CH₃OH concentration, 0.11 g loading, and a 3.59 h reaction time as the optimum conditions for maximum H₂ generation. Finally, for investigating the adsorption behaviour, a modified Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) mechanism-based kinetic model was developed. According to the kinetic model, the lower CH₃OH adsorption constant suggested low adsorption at lower concentrations, but the higher CH₃OH value indicated more adsorption at higher reactant concentrations. Thus, structured photocatalysts with enhanced photoactivity and kinetic-model findings should help researchers to comprehend photocatalytic reaction engineering properly for solar energy applications.