One step synthesis of self-doped F–Ta2O5 nanoshuttles photocatalyst and enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Tantalic oxide (Ta 2 O 5 ), as an excellent transition metal oxide photocatalyst , has been extensively studied on fluorination or self-doped for hydrogen production , while there is little research to combine the two modifications. In this work, surface fluorination self-doped Ta 2 O 5 nanoshuttles (FTNSs) photocatalyst is synthesized successfully by a modified one-step hydrothermal method . The test results show the presence of surface fluorine ions , Ta 4+ and oxygen vacancies in the sample. The FTNSs prepared by hydrothermal method under 180 °C for 24 h exhibits the highest hydrogen evolution rate (HER). The HER is 179.2 and 19.78 μmol h −1  g −1 in the absence of any co-catalyst under full-spectrum and simulated solar light, respectively, which is higher than that of the Ta 2 O 5 nanoshuttles without fluoride and the commercial Ta 2 O 5 . The higher HER can attribute to the existence of F, Ta 4+ and oxygen vacancies, which enhance the photogenerated carrier mobility and reduce the recombination.