Issue 48, 2016, Issue in Progress

Structural evolution of alkaline earth metal stannates MSnO3 (M = Ca, Sr, and Ba) photocatalysts for hydrogen production

Abstract

The alkaline earth metal stannates MSnO3 (M = Ca, Sr, and Ba) photocatalysts with different morphologies are successfully prepared by hydrothermal method and their photocatalytic activities are evaluated by photocatalytic reforming of ethanol/water solution to hydrogen. All of the as-prepared samples are characterized in detail by X-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance (UV-vis DRS), N2 physical adsorption, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) before and after the photocatalytic hydrogen production to illustrate the effect of the photoreaction on the surface structure, and thus to make the photocatalysis clear. The results reveal that the greatest photocorrosion occurs on the surface of CaSnO3, SrSnO3, and BaSnO3 samples. And the formed surface species have great influence on H2 production from ethanol/water solution. The photocatalytic reaction can transform CaSnO3 into CaSn(OH)6, producing CaSn(OH)6/CaSnO3 composite where the photogenerated charges can be more efficiently separated and transferred, consequently enhancing the hydrogen evolution. As for SrSnO3, the photocorrosion can cause the formation of Sn2+ self-doped SrSnO3 nanoparticles on the surface to increase the hydrogen production efficiency. Unlike CaSnO3 and SrSnO3, the photocatalytic activity of BaSnO3 is gradually decreased due to the conversion of BaSnO3 to BaCO3. As expected, the H2 evolution rate decreased in the order of CaSnO3 > SrSnO3 > BaSnO3 under UV light irradiation. It is well demonstrated in the present work that CaSnO3 is a potential photocatalyst for the photocatalytic reforming of ethanol/water solution to hydrogen.

Graphical abstract: Structural evolution of alkaline earth metal stannates MSnO3 (M = Ca, Sr, and Ba) photocatalysts for hydrogen production

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
02 Mar 2016
Accepted
21 Apr 2016
First published
25 Apr 2016

RSC Adv., 2016,6, 42474-42481

Structural evolution of alkaline earth metal stannates MSnO3 (M = Ca, Sr, and Ba) photocatalysts for hydrogen production

F. Zhong, H. Zhuang, Q. Gu and J. Long, RSC Adv., 2016, 6, 42474 DOI: 10.1039/C6RA05614H

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