A novel architecture of dandelion-like Mo2C/TiO2 heterojunction photocatalysts towards high-performance photocatalytic hydrogen production from water splitting

In the development of photocatalytic hydrogen (H2) production, designing and optimizing photocatalyst nanostructures with efficient charge transfer and separation for catalytically active sites are still a great challenge. Herein, a well-controlled synthetic strategy is developed to prepare an Mo2C/TiO2 hetero-nanostructure, in which the TiO2 3D hierarchical configuration is loaded with highly dispersed Mo2C nanoparticles. This heterostructure achieves the excellent photocatalytic activity of 39.4 mmol h−1 g−1 with its rate ∼25 times higher than that of pristine TiO2. Also, our photocatalysts process excellent long-term durability (>20 h). The impressive photocatalytic H2 activity of Mo2C/TiO2 indicates favourable charge carrier dynamics, as determined by the results of photoluminescence (PL), time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL), surface photovoltage (SPV), and open circuit potential (OCP) decay curves. Moreover, this study provides a guide for researchers to design new functional materials with excellent hydrogen production activity.