Efficient hydrogen evolution with ZnO/SrTiO3 S-scheme heterojunction photocatalyst sensitized by Eosin Y

Developing efficient, stable, and cheap photocatalysts for H-2 production has aroused great interest among researchers. Herein, noble-metal-free ZnO/SrTiO3 composite photocatalysts have been successfully prepared by hydrothermal method. X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ultravioletevisible diffusion spectroscopy, and photoluminescence spectroscopy are used to characterize the obtained samples. The photocatalytic water splitting for H-2 production by ZnO/SrTiO3 has been studied under simulated sunlight irradiation by using triethanolamine as a sacrificial agent and Eosin Y (EY) dye as a sensitizer. The orthogonal experiments are designed to optimize the photocatalytic reaction conditions for practical purposes. The influencing extents and trends of the factors have been investigated, including the catalyst composition and dosage, pH value of the solution, triethanolamine, and EY addition. Under the optimum conditions, the H-2 production rate with ZnO/SrTiO3 is up to 16006.12 mu mol g(-1) h(-1). The excellent performance of ZnO/SrTiO3 is attributed to the formation of a step-scheme (S-scheme) heterojunction, which promotes the separation of photocarriers and reduces their recombination probability. (c) 2021 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Efficient development of noble-metal-free ZnO/SrTiO3 composite photocatalysts for H-2 production has been achieved through orthogonal experiments to optimize reaction conditions. Under the optimum conditions, the H-2 production rate with ZnO/SrTiO3 reached a high level.