摘要
In this study,an acid-induced assembly strategy for a rutile TiO2 photocatalyst was proposed on the basis of the treatment of lamellar protonated titanate with a concentrated HNO3 solution.Nitrate groups were successfully grafted onto a TiO2 surface and induced the assembly of rutile TiO2 nanorods into uniform spindle-like nanobundles.The resulting TiO2 product achieved a photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate of 402.4μmol h^?1,which is 3.1 times higher than that of Degussa P25-TiO2.It was demonstrated that nitrate group grafting caused the rutile TiO2 surface to become negatively charged,which is favorable for trapping positive protons and improving charge carrier separation,thereby enhancing photocatalytic hydrogen production.Additionally,surface charges were crucial to structural stability based on electrostatic repulsion.This study not only developed a facile surface modification strategy for fabricating efficient H2 production photocatalysts but also identified an influence mechanism of inorganic acids different from that reported in the literature.
化石燃料的快速消耗加速了全球能源危机和环境污染等问题.光催化产氢直接利用清洁和可持续的太阳能实现向化学燃料的转化,因而成为一种有前景的技术.众多半导体光催化剂中,二氧化钛因其高光催化活性、稳定的化学性质、低成本和无毒等优势而被广泛用作分解水产氢的光催化剂.最近,金红石相TiO2纳米晶体在某些情况下被证明具有光催化的潜力,然而其光生电子-空穴对的快速复合显著抑制了光催化效率.表面修饰、构建异质结和负载助催化剂等策略被用来提高光生载流子的分离效率以减少复合损失,从而提升光催化活性.由于光催化反应通常发生在光催化剂的表面活性位点上,因此通过改善表面性质改变电荷转移途径对光催化活性具有重要影响.磷酸、硫酸、硼酸和盐酸等无机酸的修饰可以改变光催化剂的表面基团,分别通过促进表面羟基的形成和氧气的吸附以及改变表面电荷性质更有效地捕获空穴,实现光生电子和空穴的分离,有助于光催化降解有机污染物.然而,这种影响机制显然不适用于光催化产氢体系,目前对无机酸修饰用于分解水产氢的研究鲜有报道.因此,通过酸改性策略制备高效产氢的光催化剂仍然是一个相当大的挑战.本文利用硝酸诱导策略合成纺锤状金红石相二氧化钛纳米束(R-TiO2).首先,制备层状质子化钛酸盐(LPT)作为TiO2的前体,随后,加入浓硝酸以诱导向金红石相TiO2的转变,并组装形成纺锤状纳米束.对照实验显示,硝酸的酸化可以诱导LPT向金红石相TiO2的转变,而相同条件下浓硝酸后处理不会引起晶相的转变.纺锤形纳米束的形成源于,硝酸诱导R-TiO2沿(110)方向生长并彼此粘附,硝酸诱导组装过程成功在TiO2表面修饰上硝酸根,同时扩大了光吸收范围,有效减少了电荷复合损失.光催化产氢测试证明了R-TiO2光催化剂具有高效的产氢性能,产氢速率为402.4μmol h-1,是Degussa P25的3.1倍,并且显著高于未经浓硝酸处理的锐钛矿(52.0μmol h^-1)或金红石相(110.8μmol h^-1)光催化剂.为了说明表面硝酸根的影响,分别从晶体和化学结构、形态以及表面电荷性质方面比较了光催化反应前后的变化,结果表明,R-TiO2增强的光催化效率可归因于硝酸根基团的负场效应,有利于在表面上捕获带正电的质子以促进载流子分离,提高光催化产氢的效率.总之,本工作不仅对于发展表面修饰策略制备高效产氢光催化剂的研究具有重要意义,而且提出了一种不同于文献报道的无机酸影响机制.
基金
supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21771070, 21571071)
the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2018KFYYXJJ120, 2019KFYRCPY104)~~
