Journal
APPLIED CATALYSIS B-ENVIRONMENTAL
Volume 179, Issue -, Pages 574-582Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.apcatb.2015.05.052
Keywords
Hybrid; CNT/TiO2; Interface; Oxygen vacancies; Hydrogen production
Funding
- European Union Seventh Framework Programme [310184]
- CARINHYPH project
- Graduate School of Chemistry at the University of Munster
Ask authors/readers for more resources
We demonstrate a unique route towards hierarchical assemblies of mesoporous TiO2 and CNT/TiO2 photocatalysts by a combination of electrospinning and sol-gel methods. The resulting materials exhibit a mesoporous network of highly crystalline, well-connected inorganic nanocrystals with an order of magnitude higher photocatalytic activity than individualised TiO2 nanoparticles. The in-situ combination of small amounts of MWCNTs with TiO2 to form an electrospun CNT/TiO2 hybrid further enhanced the oxide photoactivity considerably, reaching hydrogen evolution rates of 1218 mu mol/h in water splitting in the presence of sacrificial reagents under UV irradiation. We also discuss the effect of oxygen vacancies on the oxide crystallisation and phase transformation. These vacancies lead to inter-bandgap states and a lower flat band potential that facilitates the photocatalytic process. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available