Exploration of 1D-2D LaFeO3/RGO S-scheme heterojunction for photocatalytic water splitting

Abstract

Sustainable energy innovation is spearheading the way to achieve decarbonisation through commercially viable and highly competitive renewable technologies for green hydrogen. Photocatalytic water splitting has received global attention, as it promotes the direct conversion of solar energy to chemical energy and hydrogen production. Lanthanum orthoferrite (LaFeO3) has been selected due to its narrow bandgap perovskite-oxides (ABO3) type nature, low cost and high chemical stability but it is limited with fast charge recombination. To circumvent its constraint of fast charge recombination, an efficient graphene-based nanocomposite has been prepared by employing reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanosheets as charge separators for visible light driven photocatalytic water splitting. Here, we present a thorough physical and spectroscopic characterization of the Lanthanum orthoferrite/Reduced Graphene oxide (LaFeO3/RGO) nanocomposites, and investigate its photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical performance. The photocurrent density of the nanocomposites demonstrated ∼21 times higher in comparison to pure LaFeO3. The as-prepared nanocomposites have been successfully used as photocatalysts for H2 generation through water reduction under visible light. A significant enhancement in H2 generation has been recorded for nanocomposites (∼82 mmol g−1 h−1) as compared to that of bare LaFeO3 (∼9 mmol g−1 h−1) which is among the highest values obtained using noble-metal-free graphene-based photocatalytic nanocomposites. This work offers a facile approach for fabricating highly efficient 1D-2D heterostructure for photocatalysis application.