Hybrid 0D/2D Ni2P quantum dot loaded TiO2(B) nanosheet photothermal catalysts for enhanced hydrogen evolution

The development of low cost, stable, robust photocatalysts to convert solar energy into hydrogen energy is an important challenge. Here, we describe a simple solvothermal method to successfully fabricate a catalyst with a hybrid 0D/2D Ni2P quantum dot/TiO2(B) nanosheet architecture. HRTEM shows that Ni2P quantum dots about 5 nm in size were dispersed on ultrathin TiO2(B) nanosheets. The optimum photocatalytic H2 evolution rate with 10 wt% Ni2P/TiO2(B) (3.966 mmol g−1 h−1) was superior to Pt loaded TiO2(B) (3.893 mmol h−1 g−1), which was 15 times higher than pure TiO2(B) nanosheets. Significantly, the new catalyst shows high stability and reusability in multiply cycled H2 production runs for a 30 h period. The H2 production rate can be considerably increased furthered by using synergistic photothermal H2 evolution (20.129 mmol g−1 h−1 at 90 °C).