Hierarchical SnO2 nanosheets@SiC nanofibers for enhanced photocatalytic water splitting

Abstract

AbstractProducing eco‐friendly hydrogen (H2) as a renewable energy by solar‐driven water splitting has triggered considerable interests. In this paper, we reported the in situ growth of ultrathin tin oxide nanosheets (SnO2 NSs) on the surface of mesoporous silicon carbide nanofibers (SiC NFs) using a simple hydrothermal method to form a core‐shell structures. The H2 production rate of the sample was 471.8 μmol g−1 h−1 under solar‐light illumination without any noble metals as catalysts, which was almost 1.25 and 3 times higher than pure SiC NFs and pure SnO2 NSs, respectively. The synergistic effect of the SnO2‐SiC heterojunction between the core‐shell microstructure played an important role in the superior performance of this photocatalyst.