Cu nanoparticles/fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) nanocomposites for photocatalytic H2 evolution under visible light irradiation

Abstract

Copper nanoparticles/fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) nanocomposites were successfully prepared by a simple hydrothermal method. The synthesized nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-visible diffuse-reflectance spectrum (UV-VIS DRS), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectra, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The obtained Cu/FTO nanocomposites exhibit high photocatalytic activity for H2 evolution under visible light (λ > 420 nm) irradiation. When the content of Cu is 19.2 wt % for FTO, the Cu/FTO photocatalyst shows the highest photocatalytic activity and the photocatalytic H2 evolution rate is up to 11.22 μmol•h-1. Meanwhile, the photocatalyst exhibits excellent stability and repeatability. It is revealed that the transfer efficiency of the photogenerated electrons is improved greatly because of the intense interaction between Cu NPs and FTO. Furthermore, a possible mechanism is proposed for enhanced photocatalytic H2 evolution of Cu/FTO photocatalysts under visible light irradiation.