Abstract
The ZnBiVO4 semiconductor have been used for photocatalytic hydrogen production from hydrogen sulfide, however it was not utilized as a photocatalyst to produce hydrogen from alcohols. Here, we describe the synthesis of nanosized ZnBiVO4 semiconductor by using non-conventional microwave hydrothermal method and the synthesized material was utilized for photocatalytic H-2 production under visible light irradiation. Deposition of noble metals (Ag, Au, Pd, and Pt) on the surface of ZnBiVO4 resulted a significant higher photocatalytic H-2 production compared to parent semiconductor under optimized reaction conditions. This effect is higher in case of Pt decorated samples that again shows a superior photocatalytic H-2 production than other noble metal loaded ZnBiVO4 nanostructures. A thorough characterization of synthesized materials was performed using elemental analysis, X-ray diffraction, FT-IR, DR UV-vis, XPS, SEM, CO-chemisorption, and N-2 physisorption measurements. The obtained characterization results indicated the role of Pt to decrease the band gap energy, increasing electron storage and delayed electron-hole recombination due to high interaction between Pt and ZnBiVO4.