Abstract
The incorporation of In2O3 nanoparticles on mesoporous La0.02Na0.98TaO3 photocatalysts is very interesting for promoting the H-2 production under UV illumination in the presence of [10%] glycerol as a hole scavenger. It is demonstrated that an outstanding mesoporous In2O3 /La(0.02)Na(0.98)TaO(3 )photocatalyst can be constructed by incorporating In2O3 nanoparticles (0-2 wt%) and mesoporous La0.02Na0.98TaO3 nanocomposites for highly promoting photocatalytic H-2 evolution. The maximum yield of H-2 similar to 2350 mu mol g(-1)was obtained over mesoporous 1% In2O3/La0.02Na0.98TaO3 nanocomposite. The mesoporous 1% In2O3/La0.02Na0.98TaO3 nanocomposite exhibited further enhancement H-2 production, in which the rate of H-2 evolution can be as high as 235 mu mol g(-1)h(-1), 435 times higher than those of mesoporous La0.02Na0.98TaO3. The results showed that the 1% In2O3/La(0.02)Na(0.98)TaO(3 )photocatalyst possesses high stability and durability for H-2 evolution by implying almost no photoactivity reduce after five cycles for 45 h continuous illumination. The measurement of photoluminescence spectroscopy, transient photocurrent spectra and UV- diffuse reflectance spectra for all synthesized samples exhibited that the promoted H-2 production is mainly explained by its effective electron-hole separation and broaden photoresponse region due to its compositions and structures of the obtained heterostructures. (C) 2020 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.