Abstract
Mesoporous Ag/La0.02Na0.98TaO3 photocatalysts at diverse contents of Ag nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized through a photoreduction deposition approach. Photocatalytic H-2 evolution from aqueous glycerol solutions as the holes scavenger over mesoporous La0.02Na0.98TaO3 was extremely enhanced by incorporating with Ag NPs as a cocatalyst. The mesoporous La0.02Na0.98TaO3 exhibited low the photocatalytic H-2 evolution similar to 80 mu mnolg(-1). After incorporation of Ag NPs, the photocatalytic H-2 evolution was increased from 400 to 2966 mu molg(-1) with the increase Ag NPs contents from 0.5 to 1.5 %. The mesoporous 1.5%Ag/La0.02Na0.98TaO3 photocatalyst exhibits the highest photocatalytic performance, which is greater 40 times than mesoporous pure La0.02Na0.98TaO3 photocatalyst. The improvement of the photocatalytic H-2 evolution was ascribed to the efficient charge carriers transport from the Ag NPs to La0.02Na0.98TaO3 , which inhibits the charge carriers recombination through the photocatalytic H-2 evolution. The photoluminescence and photoelectrochemical were used to confirm the enhanced photocatalytic efficiency of Ag/La0.02Na0.98TaO3 photocatalysts.