화학공학소재연구정보센터
International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol.44, No.48, 26308-26321, 2019
The effect of imidazolium ionic liquid on the morphology of Pt nanoparticles deposited on the surface of SrTiO3 and photoactivity of Pt-SrTiO3 composite in the H-2 generation reaction
Photocatalytic water splitting has great potential in solar-hydrogen production as a low-cost and environmentally friendly method. Different unique techniques used to obtain photocatalysts with various modifications to improve H-2 generation have been introduced. In the present work, SrTiO3 was successfully synthesized via the solvothermal method in the presence of ionic liquid (IL) - 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([BMIM][Br]) followed by surface decoration with Pt particles using the photodeposition method. The effect of the noble metal content and presence of IL on the morphology, optical and surface properties of SrTiO3, thereby the effectiveness of hydrogen generation, has been thoroughly examined and presented. Unexpectedly, the presence of [BMIM][Br] at the SrTiO3 surface affected the interaction between the semiconductor surface and platinum particles formed throughout photodeposition. Platinum particles at the surface of SrTiO3_IL were found to be in the form of 2D clusters with a size of 1 nm. In comparison, Pt deposited on SrTiO3 photocatalyst without application of IL created larger, three-dimensional structures with a diameter exceeding 5 nm. This is the reason why the total amount of platinum deposited on the StTiO(3)_IL sample is smaller than that on SrTiO3 and justifies a higher efficiency of hydrogen generation of Pt modified SrTiO3 photocatalyst in comparison to SrTiO3 prepared in the presence of IL. The mechanism of H-2 generation in the water splitting reaction in the presence of SrTiO3_Pt photocatalyst was discussed. (C) 2019 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.