CuS co-catalyst modified hydrogenated SrTiO3 nanoparticles as an efficient photocatalyst for H2 evolution

Abstract

Strontium titanate (SrTiO₃) is considered to be a promising photocatalyst. However, the rapid recombination of photo-generated charge carriers limits the practical applications of SrTiO₃-based photocatalysts. In this work, we prepared hydrogenated SrTiO₃ using NaBH₄ as a reducing reagent. The optimized photocatalyst shows a H₂-evolution rate up to 409.5 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ with a CuS co-catalyst, which is 152, 14 and 1.8 times higher than those of pure SrTiO₃, hydrogenated SrTiO₃, and CuS/SrTiO₃, respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic H₂-evolution activity can be attributed to the synergistic effect of the CuS co-catalyst and the appropriate oxygen vacancies produced by hydrogenation, which are beneficial for lowering the separation of photo-generated charge carriers. The present finding could shed light on the design of efficient SrTiO₃-based photocatalysts.