Cu₂O‐Decorated Mesoporous TiO₂ Beads as a Highly Efficient Photocatalyst for Hydrogen Production

Abstract

Cu2O‐decorated mesoporous TiO2 beads (MTBs) are developed as a low‐cost, highly efficient photocatalyst for H2 production. MTBs with a high specific surface area of 189 m2 g−1, a large pore volume of 0.43 cm3 g−1 and a suitable pore size of 8.9 nm are decorated with band‐structure‐matched Cu2O nanocrystals through a simple, fast and low‐cost chemical bath deposition process. The Cu2O nanocrystals serve as an electron–hole separation centre to promote H2 evolution. Under optimal operation conditions, an ultra‐high specific H2 evolution rate of 223 mmol h−1 g−1 is achieved. The success is attributed to the structural advantages of the MTBs of high specific surface areas, large pore volumes and suitable pore sizes together with the much improved electron–hole separation and light utilisation of the Cu2O‐decorated MTBs. The H2 evolution rates achieved with the Cu2O‐decorated MTBs are one order of magnitude higher than those achieved by commercial P25 TiO2.

Facile Synthesis of Highly Efficient One-Dimensional Plasmonic Photocatalysts through Ag@Cu2O Core–Shell Heteronanowires

“…Cuprous oxide (Cu 2 O) is one such attractive and environmentally friendly p-type direct semiconductor, with a small band gap (2.17 eV) and unique optical and electrical properties, which make it an appealing candidate for photocatalytic applications. [28][29][30][31][32][33] In order to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages of semiconductor-core@metal-shell plasmonic heterostructured photocatalysts, and to further enhance the photocatalytic performance of pure Cu 2 O, metal-core@Cu 2 O-shell hetero-nanostructures, such as Cu@Cu 2 O core-shell microspheres, 34 Ag@Cu 2 O core-shell nanoparticles, 26 and Au@Cu 2 O core-shell cubes and octahedra, 35 have been widely chosen as photocatalysts in recent years. Compared with other noble metals, Ag is more attractive due to its high electrical and thermal conductivity, antibacterial characteristics, low cost, and nontoxicity.…”

Hydrogen Photoproduction from Ethanol–Water Mixtures Over Au–Cu Alloy Nanoparticles Supported on TiO2

“…The drawback, however, is the high costs incurred by the use of noble metals. For this reason, increasing attention has been devoted to Cu/Cu 2 O/CuO nanoparticles dispersed on TiO 2 [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] to attain a cost-effective photocatalyst. Copper species with smaller bandgap and higher work function than bare TiO 2 facilitates light harvesting and charge carrier separation in Cu/TiO 2 .…”

Morphology‐controlled Electrodeposition of Copper Nanospheres onto FTO for Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production

“…[55] Too much photocatalyst may cause light shielding which reduces the extent of utilization of the photocatalyst, and thus, the amount of H 2 evolution. [56] As shown above, the hydrogen evolution amount is strongly dependent on electrodeposition potential and electrodeposition time. The Cu/FTO which was prepared at the potential of -0.65 V for 600 s showed the highest H 2 evolution.…”