Novel core-shell Ag@AgSex nanoparticle co-catalyst: In situ surface selenization for efficient photocatalytic H2 production of TiO2

doi:10.1016/S1872-2067(21)63969-4

Abstract

Abstract:

Effective charge separation and rapid interfacial H₂ production are imperative for the construction of efficient photocatalysts. Compared to Pt, the metallic Ag co-catalyst with its strong electron-trapping ability and excellent electronic conductivity typically exhibits an extremely limited photocatalytic H₂-evolution rate owing to its sluggish interfacial H₂-generation reaction. In this study, amorphous AgSe_x was incorporated in situ onto metallic Ag as a novel and excellent H₂-evolution active site to boost the interfacial H₂-generation rate of Ag nanoparticles in a TiO₂/Ag system. Core-shell Ag@AgSe_x nanoparticle-modified TiO₂ photocatalysts were prepared via a two-step pathway involving the photodeposition of metallic Ag and the selective surface selenization of metallic Ag to yield amorphous AgSe_x shells. The as-prepared TiO₂/Ag@AgSe_x (20 μL) photocatalyst exhibited an excellent H₂-production performance of 853.0 μmol h^-1g^-1, prominently outperforming the TiO₂ and TiO₂/Ag samples by factors of 11.6 and 2.4, respectively. Experimental investigations and DFT calculations revealed that the enhanced H₂-generation activity of the TiO₂/Ag@AgSe_x photocatalyst could be accounted by synergistic interactions of the Ag@AgSe_x co-catalyst. Essentially, the metallic Ag core could quickly capture and transport the photoinduced electrons from TiO₂ to the amorphous AgSe_x shell, whereas the amorphous AgSe_x shell provided large active sites for boosting the interfacial H₂ evolution. This study offers a facile route for the construction of novel core-shell co-catalysts for sustainable H₂ evolution.

Key words: Photocatalytic H₂ evolution, Co-catalyst, Surface selenization, Ag@AgSe_x, Synergistic effect

Wei Zhong, Jiachao Xu, Ping Wang, Bicheng Zhu, Jiajie Fan, Huogen Yu. Novel core-shell Ag@AgSe_x nanoparticle co-catalyst: In situ surface selenization for efficient photocatalytic H₂ production of TiO₂[J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2022, 43(4): 1074-1083.

×
share this article

Add to citation manager EndNote|Ris|BibTeX

URL: https://www.cjcatal.com/EN/10.1016/S1872-2067(21)63969-4

https://www.cjcatal.com/EN/Y2022/V43/I4/1074

Figures/Tables 10

Fig. 1. (a) Schematic illustration of the synthesis and (b) photographs of TiO2/Ag@AgSex photocatalyst in different reaction stages: (1) TiO2, (2) TiO2/Ag, and (3) TiO2/Ag@AgSex. (c) Illustration of in situ surface selenization of metallic Ag nanoparticles to synthesize the novel core-shell Ag@AgSex structure.

Fig. 2. XRD patterns (a) and the diffraction peaks (b) of metallic Ag nanoparticles showing the differences in the peak intensities of the various samples and TiO2. (1) TiO2; (2) TiO2/Ag; (3) TiO2/Ag@AgSex (5μL); (4) TiO2/Ag@AgSex(20μL); (5) TiO2/Ag@AgSex(150μL).

Fig. 3. HRTEM images (a,b), EDX spectrum (c), and EDS mapping images (d) of the TiO2/Ag@AgSex(20μL) photocatalyst.

Fig. 4. XPS survey spectra (a) and the high-resolution XPS profiles of Ti 2p (b), Ag 3d (c), and Se 3d (d). (1) TiO2; (2) TiO2/Ag; (3) TiO2/Ag@AgSex(20μL); (4) TiO2/Ag@AgSex(150μL).

Fig. 5. UV-vis spectra and photographs of TiO2 (1), TiO2/Ag (2), TiO2/Ag@AgSex(5μL) (3), TiO2/Ag@AgSex(20μL) (4), and TiO2/Ag@AgSex(150μL) (5).

Fig. 6. (a) Photocatalytic H2-generation rates achieved by TiO2 (1), TiO2/Ag (2), TiO2/Ag@AgSex(5μL) (3), TiO2/Ag@AgSex(10μL) (4), TiO2/Ag@AgSex(20μL) (5), TiO2/Ag@AgSex(50μL) (6), and TiO2/Ag@AgSex(150μL) (7). (b) Cyclic H2-production tests conducted using the TiO2/Ag@AgSex(20μL) photocatalyst.

Fig. 7. (a) Schematic illustration of the strategy employed for enhancing the H2-evolution rate of TiO2: (1) loading Ag nanoparticles for efficient photogenerated-electron capture, and (2) surface active-site modification of metallic Ag nanoparticles for realizing rapid interfacial H2-generation reactions. (b) Band structures of TiO2, Ag, and AgSex; (c) Schematic illustration of the H2-production mechanism of the TiO2/Ag@AgSex photocatalysts involving the rapid capture of photoinduced electrons by the metallic Ag core and the rapid interfacial H2-production reactions on the amorphous AgSex shell.

Fig. 8. Optimized structures of Ag (a), Ag2Se (b), and Ag@Ag2Se (c) for DFT calculations; (d) Side view of charge-density difference of Ag@Ag2Se. Cyan and yellow colors represent electron-defective and electron-rich regions, respectively. (e) Calculated free-energy diagram (ΔGH*) of the hydrogen evolution reaction based on the aforementioned optimized structures.

Fig. 9. Ti 2p (a) and Ag 3d (b) in situ XPS profiles of the TiO2/Ag@AgSex samples; (c) Schematic illustration of electron migration in the TiO2/Ag@AgSex sample before contact (1), after contact (2), and under UV light illumination (3).

Fig. 10. Transient photoluminescence spectra (a), LSV profiles (b), photocurrent curves (c), and EIS data (d) for the TiO2 (1), TiO2/Ag (2), and TiO2/Ag@AgSex(20μL) (3) photocatalysts.

References

[1]	L. Zhang, J. Ran, S. Qiao, M. Jaroniec, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2019, 48, 5184-5206.
[2]	R. Mu, Y. Ao, T. Wu, C. Wang, P. Wang, J. Alloys Compd., 2020, 812, 151990.
[3]	J. Peng, J. Shen, X. Yu, H. Tang, Zulfiqar, Q. Liu, Chin. J. Catal., 2021, 42, 87-96.
[4]	W. Zhong, D. Gao, H. Yu, J. Fan, J. Yu, Chem. Eng. J., 2021, 419, 129652.
[5]	Z. Lin, Y. Zhao, J. Luo, S. Jiang, C. Sun, S. Song, Adv. Funct. Mater., 2020, 30, 1908797.
[6]	Y. Zhang, X. Gao, Y. Wu, J. Gui, S. Guo, H. Zheng, Z. Wang, Exploration, 2021, 1, 90-114.
[7]	J. He, W. Zhong, Y. Xu, J. Fan, H. Yu, J. Yu, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2021, 9, 3239-3246.
[8]	Q. Zhong, Y. Li, G. Zhang, Chem. Eng. J., 2021, 409, 128099.
[9]	C. Su, Y. Zhou, L. Zhang, X. Yu, S. Gao, X. Sun, C. Cheng, Q. Liu, J. Yang, Ceram. Int., 2020, 46, 8444-8451.
[10]	W. Zhong, Y. Huang, X. Wang, J. Fan, H. Yu, Chem. Commun., 2020, 56, 9316-9319.
[11]	X. Li, B. Kang, F. Dong, Z. Zhang, X. Luo, L. Han, J. Huang, Z. Feng, Z. Chen, J. Xu, B. Peng, Z. L. Wang, Nano Energy, 2021, 81, 105671.
[12]	J. Cao, H. Fan, C. Wang, J. Ma, G. Dong, M. Zhang, Ceram. Int., 2020, 46, 7888-7895.
[13]	F. He, B. Zhu, B. Cheng, J. Yu, W. Ho, W. Macyk, Appl. Catal. B, 2020, 272, 119006.
[14]	R. Shen, Y. Ding, S. Li, P. Zhang, Q. Xiang, Y.H. Ng, X. Li, Chin. J. Catal., 2021, 42, 25-36.
[15]	Y. Yang, D. Zhang, Q. Xiang, Nanoscale, 2019, 11, 18797-18805.
[16]	H. Yu, W. Zhong, X. Huang, P. Wang, J. Yu, ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng., 2018, 6, 5513-5523.
[17]	J. Xiong, X. Li, J. Huang, X. Gao, Z. Chen, J. Liu, H. Li, B. Kang, W. Yao, Y. Zhu, Appl. Catal. B, 2020, 266, 118602.
[18]	X. Li, J. Xiong, Y. Xu, Z. Feng, J. Huang, Chin. J. Catal., 2019, 40, 424-433
[19]	D. Gao, W. Zhong, Y. Liu, H. Yu, J. Fan, Appl. Catal. B, 2021, 290, 120057.
[20]	J. Pan, Z. Guan, J. Yang, Q. Li, Chin. J. Catal., 2020, 41, 200-208.
[21]	S. Zhang, S. Duan, G. Chen, S. Meng, X. Zheng, Y. Fan, X. Fu, S. Chen, Chin. J. Catal., 2021, 42, 193-204.
[22]	C. Bie, H. Yu, B. Cheng, W. Ho, J. Fan, J. Yu, Adv. Mater., 2021, 33, 2003521.
[23]	M. Wang, G. Zhang, Z. Guan, J. Yang, Q. Li, Small, 2021, 17, 2006952.
[24]	M. Wang, J. Cheng, X. Wang, X. Hong, J. Fan, H. Yu, Chin. J. Catal., 2021, 42, 37-45.
[25]	K. Li, S. Zhang, Y. Li, J. Fan, K. Lv, Chin. J. Catal., 2021, 42, 3-14.
[26]	K. Wang, L. Jiang, X. Wu, G. Zhang, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2020, 8, 13241-13247.
[27]	Y. Li, F. Gong, Q. Zhou, X. Feng, J. Fan, Q. Xiang, Appl. Catal. B, 2020, 268, 118381.
[28]	Y. Zhao, C. Shao, Z. Lin, S. Jiang, S. Song, Small, 2020, 16, 2000944.
[29]	G. Zhang, D. Chen, N. Li, Q. Xu, H. Li, J. He, J. Lu, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2020, 59, 8255-8261.
[30]	K. Li, M. Zhang, X. Ou, R. Li, Q. Li, J. Fan, K. Lv, Acta Phys.-Chim. Sin., 2020, 37, 2008010.
[31]	J. Xu, W. Zhong, H. Yu, X. Hong, J. Fan, J. Yu, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2020, 8, 15816-15822.
[32]	X. Liu, Y. Zhao, X. Yang, Q. Liu, X. Yu, Y. Li, H. Tang, T. Zhang, Appl. Catal. B, 2020, 275, 119144.
[33]	D. Ren, Z. Liang, Y. H. Ng, P. Zhang, Q. Xiang, X. Li, Chem. Eng. J., 2020, 390, 124496.
[34]	H. Yu, Y. Huang, D. Gao, P. Wang, H. Tang, Ceram. Int., 2019, 45, 9807-9813.
[35]	A. Meng, L. Zhang, B. Cheng, J. Yu, Adv. Mater., 2019, 31, 1807660.
[36]	T. Y. Yoo, J. M. Yoo, A. K. Sinha, M. S. Bootharaju, E. Jung, H. S. Lee, B.-H. Lee, J. Kim, W. H. Antink, Y. M. Kim, J. Lee, E. Lee, D. W. Lee, S.-P. Cho, S. J. Yoo, Y.-E. Sung, T. Hyeon, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2020, 142, 14190-14200.
[37]	J. Mo, E. C. M. Barbosa, S. Wu, Y. Li, Y. Sun, W. Xiang, T. Li, S. Pu, A. Robertson, T.-S. Wu, Y.-L. Soo, T. V. Alves, P. H. C. Camargo, W. Kuo, S. C. E. Tsang, Adv. Funct. Mater., 2021, 31, 2102517.
[38]	J. F. Huang, Y. C. Wu, ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng., 2018, 6, 8285-8290.
[39]	L. Li, P. Wang, Q. Shao, X. Huang, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2020, 49, 3072-3106.
[40]	X. Ji, B. Liu, X. Ren, X. Shi, A.M. Asiri, X. Sun, ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng., 2018, 6, 4499-4503.
[41]	R. Majee, A. Kumar, T. Das, S. Chakraborty, S. Bhattacharyya, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2020, 59, 2881-2889.
[42]	Y. Choi, H. Kim, G. Moon, S. Jo, W. Choi, ACS Catal., 2016, 6, 821-828.
[43]	H. An, M. Li, R. Liu, Z. Gao, Z. Yin, Chem. Eng. J., 2020, 382, 122953.
[44]	D. Gao, W. Liu, Y. Xu, P. Wang, J. Fan, H. Yu, Appl. Catal. B, 2020, 260, 118190.
[45]	Z. Chai, A. Mattsson, Y. Tesfamhret, L. Österlund, J. Zhu, ACS Appl. Energy Mater., 2020, 3, 10131-10138.
[46]	H. Yu, W. Liu, X. Wang, F. Wang, Appl. Catal. B, 2018, 225, 415-423.
[47]	C. Liu, F. Wang, D. Jia, J. Zhang, J. Zhang, Q. Hao, J. Zhang, Y. Li, H. Liu, Nanoscale, 2020, 12, 19333-19339.
[48]	W. Zhong, X. Wu, Y. Liu, X. Wang, J. Fan, H. Yu, Appl. Catal. B, 2021, 280, 119455.
[49]	T. Kawawaki, T. Nakagawa, M. Sakamoto, T. Teranishi, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2019, 141, 8402-8406.
[50]	D. Gao, R. Yuan, J. Fan, X. Hong, H. Yu, J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2020, 56, 122-132.
[51]	R. Q. Yao, Y. T. Zhou, H. Shi, Q. Zhang, L. Gu, Z. Wen, X. Lang, Q. Jiang, ACS Energy Lett., 2019, 4, 1379-1386.
[52]	M. Chhowalla, H. S. Shin, G. Eda, L. Li, K. P. Loh, H. Zhang, Nat. Chem., 2013, 5, 263-275.
[53]	H. Li, S. Xu, M. Wang, Z. Chen, F. Ji, K. Cheng, Z. Gao, Z. Ding, W. Yang, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2020, 8, 17987-17997.
[54]	I. S. Kwon, I. H. Kwak, T. T. Debela, H. G. Abbas, Y. C. Park, J. Ahn, J. Park, H. S. Kang, ACS Nano, 2020, 14, 6295-6304.
[55]	R. Chen, Y. Ao, C. Wang, P. Wang, Chem. Commun., 2020, 56, 8472-8475.
[56]	D. Gao, X. Wu, P. Wang, H. Yu, B. Zhu, J. Fan, J. Yu, Chem. Eng. J., 2021, 408, 127230.
[57]	X. Zhou, N. Zhang, L. Yin, Y. Zhao, B. Zhang, Ceram. Int., 2020, 46, 26100-26108.

Novel core-shell Ag@AgSe_x nanoparticle co-catalyst: In situ surface selenization for efficient photocatalytic H₂ production of TiO₂

RichHTML

PDF (PC)

Knowledge

Supporting Information

Abstract

Cite this article

share this article

share this article

Figures/Tables 10

References

Related Articles 15

Recommended Articles

Metrics

[1]	Lijuan Sun, Weikang Wang, Ping Lu, Qinqin Liu, Lele Wang, Hua Tang. Enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production and simultaneous benzyl alcohol oxidation by modulating the Schottky barrier with nano high-entropy alloys [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2023, 51(8): 90-100.
[2]	Defa Liu, Bin Sun, Shuojie Bai, Tingting Gao, Guowei Zhou. Dual co-catalysts Ag/Ti₃C₂/TiO₂ hierarchical flower-like microspheres with enhanced photocatalytic H₂-production activity [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2023, 50(7): 273-283.
[3]	Eun Hyup Kim, Min Hee Lee, Jeehye Kim, Eun Cheol Ra, Ju Hyeong Lee, Jae Sung Lee. Synergy between single atoms and nanoclusters of Pd/g-C₃N₄ catalysts for efficient base-free CO₂ hydro-genation to formic acid [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2023, 47(4): 214-221.
[4]	Diab khalafallah, Yunxiang Zhang, Hao Wang, Jong-Min Lee, Qinfang Zhang. Energy-saving electrochemical hydrogen production via co-generative strategies in hybrid water electrolysis: Recent advances and perspectives [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2023, 55(12): 44-115.
[5]	Chao Wu, Kangle Lv, Xin Li, Qin Li. Dual cocatalysts for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution: Categories, synthesis, and design considerations [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2023, 54(11): 137-160.
[6]	Cong Liu, Xuanhao Mei, Ce Han, Xue Gong, Ping Song, Weilin Xu. Tuning strategies and structure effects of electrocatalysts for carbon dioxide reduction reaction [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2022, 43(7): 1618-1633.
[7]	Jinling Cheng, Dingsheng Wang. 2D materials modulating layered double hydroxides for electrocatalytic water splitting [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2022, 43(6): 1380-1398.
[8]	Jiachao Xu, Duoduo Gao, Huogen Yu, Ping Wang, Bichen Zhu, Linxi Wang, Jiajie Fan. Palladium-copper nanodot as novel H₂-evolution cocatalyst: Optimizing interfacial hydrogen desorption for highly efficient photocatalytic activity [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2022, 43(2): 215-225.
[9]	Huapeng Li, Bin Sun, Tingting Gao, Huan Li, Yongqiang Ren, Guowei Zhou. Ti₃C₂ MXene co-catalyst assembled with mesoporous TiO₂ for boosting photocatalytic activity of methyl orange degradation and hydrogen production [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2022, 43(2): 461-471.
[10]	Haoran Yu, Danxu Liu, Hengyi Wang, Haishuang Yu, Qingyun Yan, Jiahui Ji, Jinlong Zhang, Mingyang Xing. Singlet oxygen synergistic surface-adsorbed hydroxyl radicals for phenol degradation in CoP catalytic photo-Fenton [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2022, 43(10): 2678-2689.
[11]	Lele Wang, Tao Yang, Lijie Peng, Qiqi Zhang, Xilin She, Hua Tang, Qinqin Liu. Dual transfer channels of photo-carriers in 2D/2D/2D sandwich-like ZnIn₂S₄/g-C₃N₄/Ti₃C₂ MXene S-scheme/Schottky heterojunction for boosting photocatalytic H₂ evolution [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2022, 43(10): 2720-2731.
[12]	Shipeng Tang, Yang Xia, Jiajie Fan, Bei Cheng, Jiaguo Yu, Wingkei Ho. Enhanced photocatalytic H₂ production performance of CdS hollow spheres using C and Pt as bi-cocatalysts [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2021, 42(5): 743-752.
[13]	Naixu Li, Meiyou Huang, Jiancheng Zhou, Maochang Liu, Dengwei Jing. MgO and Au nanoparticle Co-modified g-C₃N₄ photocatalysts for enhanced photoreduction of CO₂ with H₂O [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2021, 42(5): 781-794.
[14]	Rongchen Shen, Yingna Ding, Shibang Li, Peng Zhang, Quanjun Xiang, Yun Hau Ng, Xin Li. Constructing low-cost Ni₃C/twin-crystal Zn_0.5Cd_0.5S heterojunction/homojunction nanohybrids for efficient photocatalytic H₂ evolution [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2021, 42(1): 25-36.
[15]	Min Wang, Jingjing Cheng, Xuefei Wang, Xuekun Hong, Jiajie Fan, Huogen Yu. Sulfur-mediated photodeposition synthesis of NiS cocatalyst for boosting H₂-evolution performance of g-C₃N₄ photocatalyst [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2021, 42(1): 37-45.