Carbon-coated cubic-phase molybdenum carbide nanoparticle for enhanced photocatalytic H2-evolution performance of TiO2

摘要

Conventional hexagonal dimolybdenum carbide(Mo2 C) as a good cocatalyst has been widely applied for the enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production of various photocatalysts. Compared with the hexagonal Mo2 C, however, the investigation about cubic molybdenum carbide(Mo C) is still very limited in photocatalytic field. In this study, carbon-coated cubic molybdenum carbide(MoC@C) nanoparticle was synthesized and used as an effective cocatalyst to improve the H2-evolution efficiency of Ti O2. The cubic MoC@C can be obtained by adjusting the mass ratio of C3 N3(NH2)3 to(NH4)6 Mo7 O(24)(2:1) and controlling the calcination temperature to 800 °C. When the above cubic MoC@C nanoparticles were evenly loaded on the Ti O2 via a sonication-assisted deposition, a homogeneous composite of TiO2/MoC@C was formed due to the strong coupling interface between TiO2 and cubic MoC nanoparticles. More importantly, the highest H2-production rate of Ti O-12/MoC@C reached 504 μmol hg^(-1)(AQE=1.43%), which was 50 times as high as that of the pure TiO2. The enhanced performance of TiO2/MoC@C can be attributed to the synergistic effect of carbon layer as an electron mediator and the cubic MoC as interfacial H2-evolution active sites. This work provides a feasible guideline to develop high-efficiency Mo-based cocatalysts for potential applications in the H2-evolution field.