3D flower-like heterostructured TiO2ONi(OH)2 microspheres for solar photocatalytic hydrogen production

TiO2@Ni(OH)(2) core-shell microspheres were synthesized by a facile strategy to obtain a perfect 3D flower-like nanostructure with well-arranged Ni(OH)(2) nanoflakes on the surfaces of TiO2 micro spheres; this arrangement led to a six-fold enhancement in photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. The unique p-n type heterostructure not only promotes the separation and transfer of photogenerated charge carriers significantly, but also offers more active sites for photocatalytic hydrogen production. A photocatalytic mechanism is proposed based on the results of electrochemical measurements and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. (C) 2019, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.