Photocatalytic properties of Pd/TiO2 nanosheets for hydrogen evolution from water splitting

Abstract

The Pd/TiO₂ nanosheets were successfully prepared through a facile chemical reduction method via depositing various amounts of Pd nanoparticles onto TiO₂ nanosheets with a high percentage of exposed (001) facets. The chemical and physical properties of the samples were generally investigated using transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-visible spectra and photoluminescence spectra. The as-prepared Pd/TiO₂ nanosheets all showed an immensely improved photocatalytic activity for water splitting compared to pure anatase TiO₂ nanosheets, among which, the TiO₂ nanosheets decorated with 0.18 at% Pd NPs could provide the highest H₂ evolution rate of 3096 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹. In short, we had developed a simple method to improve the activity of anatase TiO₂ nanosheets with exposed (001) facets in photocatalytic water splitting, which might be one of the potential pathways to modify semiconductor materials in the catalytic field.