Issue 23, 2020

Enhancing photocatalytic H2 evolution on In2S3/mesoporous TiO2 nanocomposites via one-pot microwave-assisted synthesis using an ionic liquid

Abstract

Charge transfer and surface photocatalytic reactions are two crucial factors that determine the efficiency of photocatalysts in converting light energy to hydrogen energy. Herein, a fast and green strategy composed of a one-pot microwave-assisted solvothermal synthesis followed by a heat treatment process is developed for synthesizing In2S3/mesoporous TiO2 nanocomposites, using a mixture of tetra-butyl titanate, H2O, In-S-ionic liquid precursor solution (In-S-ILs) and [Bmim]Cl as the reactants. The ionic liquid cations act not only as a microwave absorbent during the solvothermal process, but also as a morphology-controlling agent via a dissolution-recrystallization process, leading to the formation of nanocomposites consisting of small and uniform sized In2S3 and mesoporous TiO2. The optimum In2S3/mesoporous TiO2 nanocomposite with an In2S3 content of 1.01 mol% exhibits a H2 evolution rate of 637.9 μmol g−1 h−1, which is over 10 times that of commercial P25, and is 5.7 and 2.6 times that of neat mesoporous TiO2 and the milled In2S3/mesoporous TiO2 with the same component, respectively. The improved H2 evolution activity is predominantly attributed to the small size of In2S3, special mesoporous structure of TiO2, and their intimate heterojunction interface, which guaranteed effective charger transfer between In2S3 and mesoporous TiO2 as well as abundant active sites for photocatalytic reactions. This work provides a novel and simple strategy for obtaining special structures of semiconductor-based nanocomposites for efficient energy conversion.

Graphical abstract: Enhancing photocatalytic H2 evolution on In2S3/mesoporous TiO2 nanocomposites via one-pot microwave-assisted synthesis using an ionic liquid

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
14 Apr 2020
Accepted
17 Mai 2020
First published
18 Mai 2020

Nanoscale, 2020,12, 12336-12345

Enhancing photocatalytic H2 evolution on In2S3/mesoporous TiO2 nanocomposites via one-pot microwave-assisted synthesis using an ionic liquid

Q. Hu, G. Chen, Y. Wang, J. Jin, M. Hao, J. Li, X. Huang and J. Jiang, Nanoscale, 2020, 12, 12336 DOI: 10.1039/D0NR02958K

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements