CuWO4-x nanoparticles incorporated brookite TiO2 porous nanospheres: Preparation and dramatic photocatalytic activity for light driven H2 generation

Abstract CuWO4-x nanoparticles incorporated brookite TiO2 porous nanospheres were prepared and investigated for photocatalytic light driven H2 generation. The as-prepared nanospheres are an efficient and stable noble metal-free photocatalyst for H2 production. The highest H2 evolution rate is 9.85 mmol g−1 h−1, which is 25 times as high as that over the commercial TiO2 nanoparticles (P25, 0.39 mmol g−1 h−1). This dramatic photocatalytic activity may be mainly attributed to the following two aspects: (1) the superior separation of the electro-hole pair caused by efficient charge transfer between TiO2 matrix and CuWO4-x nanoparticles which follows a Z-scheme-like mechanism, and (2) large specific surface area and abundant micropores. Moreover, also the stability of the as-prepared TiO2 nanospheres is satisfactory. After two consecutive runs, the photocatalytic activity is still about 90 percent of the initial photocatalytic activity.