Efficient photocatalytic H2 evolution over Cu and Cu3P co-modified TiO2 nanosheet

Schottky junction and p-n heterojunction are widely employed to enhance the charge transfer during the photocatalysis process. Herein, Cu and Cu3P co-modified TiO2 nano sheet hybrid (Cu-Cu3P/TiO2) was fabricated using an in situ hydrothermal method. The ternary composite achieved the superior H2 evolution rate of 6915.7 mmol g-1 h-1 under simulated sunlight, which was higher than that of Cu/TiO2 (4643.4 mmol g-1 h-1) and Cu3P/ TiO2 (6315.8 mmol g-1 h-1) and pure TiO2 (415.7 mmol g-1 h-1). The enhanced activity can be attributed to the collaboration effect of Schottky junction and p-n heterojunction among Cu/TiO2 and Cu3P/TiO2, which can harvest the visible light, reduce the recombination of charge carriers and lower the overpotential of H2 evolution, leading to a fast H2 evolution kinetics. This work develops a feasible method for the exploration of H2 evolution photo catalyst with outstanding charge separation properties. (c) 2021 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The Cu-Cu3P/TiO2 nano sheet hybrid achieved a superior H2 evolution rate under simulated sunlight, attributed to the collaboration effect of Schottky junction and p-n heterojunction among Cu/TiO2 and Cu3P/TiO2.