Cu nanoclusters incorporated mesoporous TiO2 nanoparticles: An efficient and stable noble metal-free photocatalyst for light driven H2 generation

It has been regarded as a promising strategy utilizing Cu co-catalyst to prepare efficient TiO2-based photocatalysts. Traditionally, Cu co-catalyst is directly loaded on the surface of TiO2. Herein, we designed and prepared an innovative photocatalytic system, Cu nanoclusters incorporated mesoporous TiO2 nanoparticles which possess plum pudding-like structure, to enhance the interaction between Cu co-catalyst and TiO2, and the stability of Cu co-catalyst. The results indicate that the as-prepared nanoparticles are an efficient noble metal-free photocatalyst for H2 production. The highest H2 evolution rate is up to 5.9 mmol g−1 h−1. Here, the Cu nanoclusters play three roles as follows: traps of the photogenerated electrons, active sites, and harvesters of visible light. Moreover, the stability of Cu co-catalyst can be obviously enhanced via embedding Cu co-catalyst into TiO2 matrix. This work provides a new route to an efficient and stable photocatalytic system containing TiO2 and Cu for photocatalytic H2 production.