Effect of TiO2 Surface Structure on the Hydrogen Production Activity of the Pt@CuO/TiO2 Photocatalysts for Water Splitting. Issue 3 (14th February 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Teng, Fei; Chen, Mindong; Li, Na; Hua, Xia; Wang, Kai; Xu, Tongguang
• Is Part Of: ChemCatChem. Volume 6:Issue 3(2014:Mar.)
• Page Start: 842
• Page End: 847
• Publication Date: 2014-02-14
• Subjects: Catalysis -- Periodicals; 541.39505
• DOI: 10.1002/cctc.201300874
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1867-3880

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" xml:lang="en"> <title>Abstract</title> <p>CuO/TiO₂ composites were prepared by the impregnation method, in which TiO₂ nanosheets and nanorods are used as the precursors, respectively. We investigated the effect of the TiO₂ surface structure on the activity and recyclability of the photocatalysts. The hydrogen production activities were tested in a 3 mol L⁻¹ methanol aqueous solution under UV‐light irradiation. After deposition of Pt, both Pt@CuO/TiO₂ samples displayed higher hydrogen production activities than the Pt/TiO₂ samples. The results reveal that the TiO₂ sheet‐based samples display higher hydrogen production activities and stability than the TiO₂ rod‐based ones. It is proposed that a more stable p–n heterojunction form at the interface between CuO and TiO₂ nanosheets owing to the strong interaction of CuO with the {0 0 1} facets of the TiO₂ sheets, which significantly refrains the recombination rate of electrons and holes.</p> </abstract>