Volume 198, 2017

Photocatalytic H2 production on trititanate nanotubes coupled with CdS and platinum nanoparticles under visible light: revisiting H2 production and material durability

Abstract

The photocatalytic production of molecular hydrogen (H2) on ternary composites of Pt, CdS, and sodium trititanate nanotubes (NaxH2−xTi3O7, TNTs) is examined in an aqueous 2-propanol (IPA) solution (typically 5 vol%) at a circum-neutral pH under visible light (λ > 420 nm). The H2 production rates are dependent on the Pt-loading level, and the optimum production rate in the Pt/CdS/TNTs is approximately six times higher than that in Pt/CdS/TiO2. A D2O solution containing 5 vol% IPA leads only to the production of D2 molecules, whereas increasing the IPA amount to 30 vol% leads to the production of DH molecules. This indicates that the Pt/CdS/TNTs composites enable H2 production via true water splitting under our typical experimental conditions. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses of the as-synthesized Pt/CdS/TNTs and those used for 6 and 12 h show that metallic Pt on the CdS/TNTs is less susceptible to oxidation than Pt on CdS/TiO2. In addition, photocorrosion of CdS (i.e., sulfate formation) is significantly inhibited during the photocatalytic H2 production reactions in the Pt/CdS/TNTs because of the efficient charge transfer via the TNTs framework. The Pt/CdS/TNTs samples are thermally more stable than Pt/CdS/TiO2 and CdS/TNTs, effectively inhibiting the formation of CdO during the thermal synthesis. Detailed surface characterizations of the as-synthesized ternary composites are performed using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and XPS.

Associated articles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
19 sep 2016
Accepted
07 nov 2016
First published
07 nov 2016

Faraday Discuss., 2017,198, 419-431

Photocatalytic H2 production on trititanate nanotubes coupled with CdS and platinum nanoparticles under visible light: revisiting H2 production and material durability

H. Park, H. Ou, M. Kim, U. Kang, D. S. Han and M. R. Hoffmann, Faraday Discuss., 2017, 198, 419 DOI: 10.1039/C6FD00192K

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