Yongmei Xia, Zuming He, Gang He, Xianglian Chen, Juan Zhang, Fahui Wang, Yusak Hartanto, Jaka Sunarso, Femiana Gapsari, Guihua Chen, Xiaofei Fu, Hanpei Yang
Photocatalytic hydrogen production technology is an emerging process with a great significance to alleviate energy crisis and environmental pollution issues. Nonetheless, this technology still not yet commercialized due to the unsatisfactory photocatalytic reaction performance. In this work, we designed and prepared a set of high performance and robust Pd single-atom modified In2O3/Nb2O5-10 (Pd-InNb-10) S-scheme composites via an oil bath co-precipitation, annealing, and reduction reaction strategy. The optimal 1.0 wt%Pd-InNb-10 composite achieved the highest H2 evolution rate of 80.15 mmol h−1 g−1, which was 4.9-and 81.8-fold greater than those of In2O3/Nb2O5-10 (InNb-10) composite and pristine In2O3, respectively, with an outstanding stability and 28.9 % apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) under 400 nm monochromatic light. This work also featured a comprehensive understanding of photocatalyst structure, S-scheme charge transport, enhanced internal electric field, and Pd single-atom promotion effect. The first principal simulations verified the essential role of Pd single-atom in enhancing the adsorption and modulating the H+ adsorption behavior for improving the overall catalytic efficiency. This work presents guide for the development and construction of complex photocatalysts for efficient hydrogen production technology. © 2025 Elsevier B.V.
Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Power Batteries & Energy Storage Materials, Xinyu University, Xinyu, 338004, China; China School of New Energy Science & Engineering, Xinyu University, Jiangxi, Xinyu, 338004, China; School of Pharmaceutical and Chemical Engineering, Taizhou University, Jiaojiang, 318000, China; School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Jiangsu University of Technology, Changzhou, 213001, China; Research Centre for Sustainable Technologies, Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Science, Swinburne University of Technology, Jalan Simpang Tiga, Sarawak, Kuching, 93350, Malaysia; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Brawijaya University, MT Haryono 167, Malang, 65145, Indonesia; School of Microelectronics and Control Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou, 213164, China; Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lakes, Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, China
