Mesoporous TiO2 spheres with rich oxygen vacancies for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production

Abstract

Developing efficient photocatalysts for H2 production holds great promise to enhance solar energy conversion. In this study, we present a facile strategy to enhance H2 production by simultaneously engineering Pt cocatalyst and oxygen vacancies (Vo) on mesoporous N doping TiO2, thereby developing efficient photocatalysts for solar energy conversion. Firstly, we employed a structure-directing agent-assisted approach to synthesize a series of mesoporous N doping TiO2 spheres, inducing Vo. Among the samples, the ammonium hydroxide-assisted variant (A-TiO2) exhibited the largest specific surface area of 52.9 m2 g−1 and Vo formation. Subsequently, the Vo-containing mesoporous N-TiO2 spheres (A-TiO2), when doped with 1 wt% Pt and employing methanol as a sacrificial agent, demonstrated remarkable performance. Under simulated sunlight irradiation, A-TiO2/Pt spheres exhibited an impressive hydrogen evolution rate of 14320.89 μmol g−1 h−1, surpassing the most of previously reported TiO2 nanostructures. Experimental studies have elucidated the synergistic effect of Pt nanoparticles and Vo on TiO2 in boosting the photocatalytic reaction. This offers a facile and scalable method for the synthesis of defective TiO2 photocatalysts, thus facilitating mass production and promoting their potential commercialization.