Solar-light-driven Water Splitting for Hydrogen Evolution by A Novel TiO2 Based Photocatalyst

摘要

In recent years,solar hydrogen generation from semiconductor photocatalysts is considered to be one of the most promising solutions to the global energy crisis.Among various kinds of photocatalysts,TiO2 as the most preferred semiconductor material has received significant attention due to its excellent characteristics,while the wide band gap of pure TiO2(3.2 eV)limits its utilization in the visible light region.As such,regarding the development of photocatalysts that work not only under UV light but also under visible-light illumination to more efficiently utilize solar energy,a highly efficient photocatalyst P/Ag/Ag2O/Ag3PO4/TiO2 has been synthesized successfully in our previous reports and it has been demonstrated with remarkable photocatalytic efficiency in decomposing the organic matters under simulated solar light irradiation [1].In addition,the organic matter decomposition activities of the prepared materials varied greatly depending on the heating temperature and time during the synthesis process.However,regarding its photocatalytic water splitting ability,there is no research being conducted.Hence,the main purpose of this study is to evaluate the novel P/Ag/Ag2O/Ag3PO4/TiO2 photocatalyst water splitting ability under simulated solar light irradiation.The effect of heating temperature and time during synthesis process on water splitting performance was systematically studied.Furthermore,the stability and durability of the asprepared composite was also confirmed through recycle photocatalytic water splitting experiment.