Mesoporous Ag@TiO2 nanofibers and their photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution

Abstract

Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution is a promising solution to energy and environmental problems. The grand challenge for its application is how to make photocatalysts with satisfactory efficiency. In the present work, exploration of Ag@TiO₂ mesoporous nanofibers via two strategies is reported, namely in situ electrospinning preparation (strategy I) and electrospinning combined with subsequent photodeposition (strategy II). The photocatalytic behavior of the as-synthesized Ag@TiO₂ hybrid nanofibers was evaluated in terms of hydrogen evolution efficiency for the photodecomposition of water under Xe lamp irradiation. It was found that incorporation of Ag nanoparticles into the TiO₂ mesoporous nanofibers could enhance remarkably their photocatalytic efficiency. The products prepared through strategy I exhibited the highest photocatalytic performance as compared with those prepared by strategy II. Current work might give some insight into exploration of stable binary photocatalysts, which have potential applications for efficient hydrogen evolution.