Flower-like hydrogen titanate nanosheets: preparation, characterization and their photocatalytic hydrogen production performance in the presence of Pt cocatalyst

Abstract

Flower-like hydrogen titanate nanosheets were prepared by a hydrothermal method and an assembling process. Then the Pt nanoparticles as cocatalysts were supported on the hydrogen titanate nanosheets through a photoreduction method. The samples were characterized by XRD, TG-DTA, ICP, SEM, TEM, XPS and UV-vis DRS. Their photocatalytic activity for H₂ production was also evaluated. The TEM results revealed that the as-prepared H₂Ti₂O₅·H₂O was with flower-like structure in which nanosheets were interlaced together. The formation mechanism of flower-like H₂Ti₂O₅·H₂O nanosheets was briefly proposed. With Pt cocatalyst, the flower-like H₂Ti₂O₅·H₂O had better photocatalytic activity (hydrogen production rate: 9.28 mmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹) and good cycling stability than original H₂Ti₂O₅·H₂O and commercial P25 under the same conditions. It was also found that the amount of cocatalyst Pt was positively correlated with photocatalytic performance.