Integrated p-n/Schottky junctions for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution upon Cu@TiO2-Cu2O ternary hybrids with steering charge transfer
Publication Name
Journal of Colloid and Interface Science
Abstract
Solar-driven photocatalytic H2 evolution could tackle the issue of fossil fuels-triggered greenhouse gas emission with sustainable clean energy. However, splitting water into hydrogen with high performance by a single semiconductor is challenging because of the poor charge separation efficiency. Herein, a novel ternary Cu@TiO2-Cu2O hybrid photocatalyst with multiple charge transfer channels has been designed for efficient solar-to-hydrogen evolution. Indeed, the ternary Cu@TiO2-Cu2O hybrid by coupling Cu@TiO2 with Cu2O nanoparticles shows highly-efficient photocatalytic hydrogen generation with rate of 12000.6 μmol·g−1·h−1, which is 4.4, 2.1, and 1.9 times higher than the pure TiO2 (2728.8 μmol·g−1·h−1), binary Cu@TiO2 (5595.5 μmol·g−1·h−1), and TiO2-Cu2O (6076.8 μmol·g−1·h−1) composite, respectively. In such a Cu@TiO2-Cu2O hybrid, the formed internal electric field in the TiO2-Cu2O p-n junction allows the electrons in Cu2O to migrate to TiO2, while the electrons in the CB of TiO2 could flow into Cu via the Schottky junction at the Cu@TiO2 interface. In this regard, a multiple charge transfer is achieved between the Cu@TiO2 and Cu2O, which facilitates promoted charge separation and results in the construction of electron-accumulated center (Cu) and hole-enriched surface (Cu2O). This p-n/Schottky junctions with steered charge transfer assists the hydrogen production upon the Cu@TiO2-Cu2O ternary photocatalyst.
Open Access Status
This publication is not available as open access
Volume
622
First Page
924
Last Page
937
Funding Number
STRZ202105
Funding Sponsor
National Natural Science Foundation of China