A novel and highly efficient earth-abundant Cu3P with TiO2 “P–N” heterojunction nanophotocatalyst for hydrogen evolution from water

Abstract

Semiconductor-based photocatalytic hydrogen (H₂) evolution from water is of great importance for solar-to-chemical conversion processes to boost and promote the future hydrogen economy. Here, for the first time, we demonstrate that p-Cu₃P coupled with n-TiO₂ forms a novel hybrid structure which accelerates electron–hole pair separation and transfer for improved photocatalytic H₂-evolution activity. The rate of H₂ evolution of the optimized Cu₃P/TiO₂ (7940 μmol h⁻¹ g⁻¹) is 11 times higher than that of bare TiO₂, with an apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) of 4.6%. This work may provide more insight into the synthesis of novel phosphide-based hybrid materials with high photocatalytic H₂-evolution activity and sufficient stability for solar-to-chemical conversion and utilization.