One-pot synthesis of Cu-modified HNb3O8 nanobelts with enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production

Yifang Zhao; Jian Li; Cong Lin; Yaming Qiu; Yanquan Yang; Xiaoge Wang; Fengjuan Pan; Ligang Wang; Jianhua Lin; Junliang Sun

doi:10.1039/C8TA02766H

One-pot synthesis of Cu-modified HNb₃O₈ nanobelts with enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production†

Yifang Zhao,^a Jian Li,^a Cong Lin,^b Yaming Qiu,^a Yanquan Yang,^a Xiaoge Wang,^a Fengjuan Pan,^a Ligang Wang,^a Jianhua Lin*^a and Junliang Sun

*^a

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^a Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Science (BNLMS), State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Materials Chemistry and Applications, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
E-mail: junliang.sun@pku.edu.cn, jhlin@pku.edu.cn

^b College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China

Abstract

Ultrathin nanomaterials have aroused much attention because of their enhanced photocatalytic activities. However, conventional exfoliation methods require a complex preparation procedure, and the intercalated cationic organic compounds are difficult to remove. Herein, HNb₃O₈ nanobelts were successfully prepared via a one-pot hydrothermal route by using POM precursors. With the aid of acetic acid, Cu ions were easily loaded through a one-pot synthesis, and they significantly enhanced the photocatalytic water splitting performance (8 times higher than that of unmodified nanobelts). Based on the XPS results, we found that the Cu ions had mixed oxidation states of Cu⁺/Cu²⁺, and the ratio did not change after calcination at 350 °C, indicating that some of the Cu⁺ ions were inserted between the layers. The role of Cu in promoting hydrogen evolution activities was attributed to the improvement in the separation of photo-induced carriers and the photo-to-electron conversion efficiency; these observations were confirmed by the analyses of photocurrent response and photoluminescence.

Journal of Materials Chemistry A

One-pot synthesis of Cu-modified HNb₃O₈ nanobelts with enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production†

Abstract

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One-pot synthesis of Cu-modified HNb₃O₈ nanobelts with enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production

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Journal of Materials Chemistry A