TiO2-rGO-Cu complex: A photocatalyst possessing an interfacial electron transport mechanism to enhance hydrogen production from seawater

Photocatalytic hydrogen production from seawater has great prospects for generating clean energy from renewable resources. We designed a TiO 2 -rGO-Cu photocatalyst that possesses a pathway for directed electron transfer from nitrogen-doped TiO 2 to rGO and then to Cu nanoparticles, which leads to efficient electron-hole pairs separation. Results show that TiO 2 -rGO-Cu has a hydrogen production rate of 16.08 mmol h −1 g −1 in simulated seawater, which is as much as 25 times higher than that of TiO 2 . The mechanism for a highly efficient directional interfacial electron transport is proposed. The strategy could be effective for designing new photocatalysts for hydrogen production from seawater.