Photodeposition of molybdenum sulfide on MTiO3 (M: Ba, Sr) perovskites for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution using by semiconductor materials have been studied effectively by converting solar energy into the chemical energy. Perovskite-based materials have been widely used as semiconductor catalysts for the photocatalytic hydrogen production. Herein, molybdenum sulfide photodeposited onto MTiO3 (M: Ba, Sr) perovskites (MTiO3/MoSx) have been investigated on the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution under solar light irradiation in the presence of triethanolamine (TEOA) and eosin Y (EY) as an electron donor and photosensitizer, respectively. Compared to pristine MTiO3, BaTiO3/MoSx and SrTiO3/MoSx show a remarkable improvement in the hydrogen production efficiency and stability. Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activities found in the order of SrTiO3/MoSx > BaTiO3/MoSx > MoSx > SrTiO3 > BaTiO3. In addition, photocatalytic hydrogen activity of SrTiO3/Pt was evaluated for comparison with SrTiO3/MoSx under the same conditions and SrTiO3/MoSx produced higher hydrogen activity than SrTiO3/Pt due to the high active sites created by MoSx on the catalyst surface which is originated from Mo–S and S[sbnd]S bonds.