Solid-State, Low-Cost, and Green Synthesis and Robust Photochemical Hydrogen Evolution Performance of Ternary TiO2/MgTiO3/C Photocatalysts

Abstract

Summary: Solar-driven photochemical hydrogen evolution is a promising route to sustainable hydrogen fuel production. Large-scale preparation of highly active photocatalysts using elementally abundant and less-expensive materials is urgently required for widespread practical application. Here, we report a highly efficient and low-cost TiO2/MgTiO3/C heterostructure photocatalyst for photochemical water splitting, which was synthesized on gram scale via a facile mechanochemical method. The heterostructure and carbon sensitization offer excellent photoconversion efficiency as well as good photostability. Under irradiation of one AM 1.5G sunlight, the optimal TiO2/MgTiO3/C photocatalyst can show a great solar-driven hydrogen evolution rate (33.3 mmol·h−1·g−1), which is much higher than the best yields ever reported for MgTiO3-related photocatalysts or pure TiO2 (P-25). We hope this work will attract more attention to inspire further work by others for the development of low-cost, efficient, and robust photocatalysts for producing hydrogen in artificial photosynthetic systems. : Catalysis; Energy Resources; Chemical Synthesis Subject Areas: Catalysis, Energy Resources, Chemical Synthesis