Photoelectrocatalytic hydrogen production on ternary Co‐Pi/Ag/TiON nanotube array photocatalysts

Summary Ternary Co‐Pi‐Ag/TiON photocatalysts were designed and fabricated by a facile precipitation and electrochemical strategy. The results showed the superiority of the Co‐Pi‐Ag/TiON as a promising photoanode for photoelectrochemical water oxidation. In comparison with Co‐Pi‐Ag/TiO 2 , Ag/TiON, and Ag/TiO 2 photoanodes, the Co‐Pi‐Ag/TiON showed a significant photocurrent density of 5.5 mA cm −2 at 1.0 V vs Ag/AgCl, which is 10‐fold that of bare TiO 2 . The extraordinary performance can be ascribed to the synergy between nitrogen doping, Co‐Pi functionalization, Ag loading, and the unique structural features of the synthesized photoelectrodes. This was further confirmed via the exceptionally high hydrogen generation rate of the Co‐Pi‐Ag/TiON ternary catalyst (54 μL h −1 cm −2 ), which is much higher than that reported for most of the TiO 2 ‐based photocatalysts.