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Research Article

Hetero-phase MoC-Mo2C nanoparticles for enhanced photocatalytic H2-production activity of TiO2

Jinfeng Liu1, Ping Wang1,2( ), Jiajie Fan3, Huogen Yu1,2( ), Jiaguo Yu4
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Life Sciences, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Material Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
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Graphical Abstract

Abstract

Hexagonal molybdenum carbide (Mo2C) as an effective non-noble cocatalyst is intensively researched in the photocatalytic H2-evolution field owing to its Pt-like H+-adsorption ability and good conductivity. However, hexagonal Mo2C-modified photocatalysts possess a limited H2-evolution rate because of the weak H-desorption ability. To further improve the activity, cubic MoC was introduced into Mo2C to form the carbon-modified MoC-Mo2C nanoparticles (MoC-Mo2C@C) by a calcination method. The resultant MoC-Mo2C@C (ca. 5 nm) was eventually coupled with TiO2 to acquire high-efficiency TiO2/MoC-Mo2C@C by electrostatic self-assembly. The highest H2-generation rate of TiO2/MoC-Mo2C@C reached of 918 μmol·h−1·g−1, which was 91.8, 2.7, and 1.5 times than that of the TiO2, TiO2/MoC@C, and TiO2/Mo2C@C, respectively. The enhanced rate of TiO2 attributes to the carbon layer as cocatalyst to transmit electrons and the hetero-phase MoC-Mo2C as H2-generation active sites to boost H2-evolution reaction. This research offers a novel insight to design photocatalytic materials for energy applications.

Keywords

TiO2MoC-Mo2C@CcocatalystH2 evolutionphotocatalysis

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Nano Research
Volume 14 Issue 4,
April 2021
Pages 1095-1102
DOI: 10.1007/s12274-020-3156-3
Cite this article:
Liu J, Wang P, Fan J, et al. Hetero-phase MoC-Mo2C nanoparticles for enhanced photocatalytic H2-production activity of TiO2. Nano Research, 2021, 14(4): 1095-1102. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-020-3156-3
Topics:
CarbidesCarbonHydrogen productionMolybdenum compoundsNanoparticlesOxide mineralsPhotocatalytic activity Self assemblyTitanium Dioxide

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Received: 31 July 2020
Revised: 28 September 2020
Accepted: 29 September 2020
Published: 13 November 2020
© Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature
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