Enhanced solar hydrogen generation using Cu–Cu2O integrated polypyrrole nanofibers as heterostructured catalysts

Abstract

Nanostructured conducting polymeric materials are beneficial for electron conduction and mass transport, showing high photocatalytic performance under visible light. Herein, we report a colloidal synthesis of copper and copper oxides (Cu2O) modified polypyrrole nanofibers (PPy) heterostructures, which demonstrates significantly high photocatalytic H2 generation under visible light. The presence of Cu nanoparticles (NPs) of 50 nm and cubic shaped Cu2O nanoparticles of size 200 nm endows the heterostructures with a large specific surface area as well as good dispersion of nanoparticles on PPy nanofibers allows the migration of electron during catalysis. Cu2O/PPy exhibits excellent H2 production (67 mmol h−1) which is 12 times higher than pure PPy (5.7 mmol h−1). The high catalytic activity of Cu2O/PPy heterostructure provides a fervent alternative to noble metal-based catalysts for the hydrogen generation and water splitting.