Highly Active Photocatalyst of Cu₂O/TiO₂ Octahedron for Hydrogen Generation

Abstract

Heterojunction catalysts are attracting attention in the field of photocatalytic hydrogen generation for their effective light utilization and charge separation personalities. In this work, we report a simple and low-cost two-step solvothermal method for synthesizing Cu₂O/TiO₂ heterojunction catalysts with an octahedral morphology and a mean particle size of about 30 nm. It is found that the introduction of Cu₂O astonishingly enhances the photocatalytic performance of TiO₂. Under the condition of methanol acting as a sacrificial agent, the heterojunction with 0.19% Cu species shows an optimal hydrogen generation rate of 24.83 mmol g^-1 h^-1, which is nearly 3 orders of magnitude higher than that of the pristine TiO₂ catalyst.