Facile synthesis of Co(OH)2 modified TiO2 nanocomposites with enhanced photocatalytic H2 evolution activity

Abstract

Co(OH)2 modified TiO2 (Co(OH)2/TiO2) photocatalysts were fabricated by a simple precipitation method and characterized by XRD, TEM, N2-physisorption, UV–vis DRS and PL. The photocatalytic H2 evolution performance on TiO2 was significantly enhanced by loading Co(OH)2. The optimum Co(OH)2 loading content was found to be 0.25mol%, yielding a H2-evolution rate of 1946μmolh−1g−1, being about 23 times of that on pure TiO2. This enhancement of photocatalytic H2 evolution was attributed to the Co(OH)2 clusters deposited on TiO2 surface, which can act as electron traps and thus facilitate the charge carrier separation.