Impact of Loading of RuO2 Co-Catalyst on Photocatalytic Activity of PbTiO3 Nanorods for Hydrogen Production Under Visible Light

Abstract

The split of charge carriers is an essential point that raises the rate of hydrogen evolution in the reaction of water splitting. The avoidance of charge carrier recombination can be attained by deposition of co-catalysts onto the surface of semiconductor materials. In this work, PbTiO3 nanorods were prepared using hydrothermal route in the presence of polyvinylpyrrolidone as a surfactant. Finally, PbTiO3 nanorods were decorated by RuO2 nanoparticles and the weight percent of RuO2 changed from 0.5 to 2.0 wt%. PbTiO3 nanorods and RuO2–PbTiO3 nanocomposites were investigated for their production of hydrogen under visible light illumination in the presence of glycerol as a scavenger. The outcomes recorded that the photocatalytic activity of PbTiO3 nanorods was improved by RuO2 nanoparticles decoration. The content of RuO2 nanoparticles had an important effect on the photocatalytic activity of PbTiO3 nanorods. The best weight percent of decorated RuO2 was 1.5 wt%, which improved photocatalytic activity of PbTiO3 nanorods by about 6 times. Moreover, the photocatalytic activity of 1.5 wt% RuO2–PbTiO3 nanocomposites was almost stable for five times. The enlargement of photocatalytic activity of PbTiO3 nanorods by RuO2 decoration was due to high surface area, small bandgap and avoidance of charge carrier recombination.