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Mesoporous Pt/TiO2-xNx nanoparticles with less than 10 nm and high specific surface area as visible light hydrogen evolution photocatalysts

  • Original Paper: Sol-gel and hybrid materials for catalytic, photoelectrochemical and sensor applications
  • Published:
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Abstract

Mesoporous TiO2-xNx nanoparticles were synthesized by selective dissolving of Si in N-doped Ti-Si binary oxides, which were nitridized at 900 °C in a flow of ammonia gas, and the mesoporous TiO2-xNx photocatalysts were then modified by depositing Pt through a microwave polyol method. The samples were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), N2 adsorption–desorption, UV–vis spectroscopy and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS). The results indicated that the addition of SiO2 remarkably changed the phase composition, BET-specific surface area and the photocatalytic H2 production activity of TiO2-xNx nanoparticles. The incorporation of Si in Ti-Si binary oxides can suppress phase transformation of TiO2 from anatase to rutile and inhibit the TiO2 crystallite growth up to 900 °C. The BET surface area of the mesoporous TiO2-xNx nanoparticle was >138 m2 g−1 while with a crystallite size <10 nm, and the sample had a good visible light response. Photocatalytic hydrogen production results showed the N-doped Pt/TiO2 derived from Si: Ti = 1:1 of Ti-Si binary oxides exhibited the highest H2 evolution rate as high as 15.2 μmol g−1 h−1 under visible light irradiation, which is almost 10 times larger than commercial TiO2 nanoparticles P25. In addition, the co-catalyst optimized amount of Pt required for optimal photocatalytic H2 production activity was 2.0 wt%.

Mesoporous TiO2-xNx nanoparticles with high BET surface area and less than 10 nm grain size were synthesized by selective dissolving of Si in N-doped Ti-Si binary oxides after calcined at 900 °C. The mesoporous Pt/TiO2-xNx exhibited H2 evolution rate as high as 15.2 μmol g−1 h−1, which is almost 10 times larger than P25. What’s more, the co-catalyst optimized amount of Pt required for optimal photocatalytic H2 production activity was 2.0 wt%.

Highlights

  • Mesoporous TiO2-xNx nanoparticles were synthesized by selective dissolving of Si in N-doped Ti-Si binary oxides.

  • The grain size of the mesoporous TiO2-xNx with high BET surface area is <10 nm after calcined at 900 °C.

  • Mesoporous Pt/TiO2-xNx exhibited H2 evolution rate as high as 15.2 μmol g−1 h−1, which is almost 10 times larger than P25.

  • The co-catalyst optimized amount of Pt required for optimal photocatalytic H2 production activity was 2.0 wt%.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support by Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 51572046, 51503035), The Shanghai Natural Science Foundation (15ZR1401200), the Program for Professor of Special Appointment (Eastern Scholar) at Shanghai Institutions of Higher Learning, Program of Shanghai Academic Research Leader (16XD1400100), the Program of Introducing Talents of Discipline to Universities (no. 111-2-04) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2232014A3-06).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, 201620, Shanghai, China

    Xin Han, Lin An, Dongyu Xu, Qinghong Zhang & Hongzhi Wang

  2. Engineering Research Center of Advanced Glasses Manufacturing Technology, MOE,, Donghua University, 201620, Shanghai, China

    Yaogang Li & Qinghong Zhang

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  1. Xin Han
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  2. Lin An
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  3. Dongyu Xu
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  5. Qinghong Zhang
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Correspondence to Qinghong Zhang.

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Han, X., An, L., Xu, D. et al. Mesoporous Pt/TiO2-xNx nanoparticles with less than 10 nm and high specific surface area as visible light hydrogen evolution photocatalysts. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 87, 230–239 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-018-4709-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-018-4709-8

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