Simultaneously tailor band structure and accelerate charge separation by constructing novel In(OH)3-TiO2 heterojunction for enhanced photocatalytic water reduction

Abstract

The convenient modification of transition metal and the simultaneous adjustment of energy band are effective measures to improve the photocatalytic activity of titanium dioxide but remains challenging in photocatalytic hydrogen evolution field. Herein, In(OH)3-TiO2 heterostructures were constructed by solid-state synthetic strategy under room temperature for tuning the band structure and accelerating the photoexcited charge separation to enhance the photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution. By the quantified modification of In(OH)3, the obtained In(OH)3-TiO2 delivers an appreciable photocatalytic activity and stability for hydrogen evolution, which is 15.7 folds superior to commercial P25. Due to the narrowed band gap, the increased charge carrier density, the restrained recombination rate of photoexcited electron-hole pairs and the accelerated photogenerated charge separation, the In(OH)3-TiO2 heterostructures thereby achieve the boosted photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance. This work provides a feasible strategy to enhance the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution of TiO2 via tuning the band gap and accelerating the photoinduced charge separation.