SrTiO3 Nanoparticle/SnNb2O6 Nanosheet 0D/2D Heterojunctions with Enhanced Interfacial Charge Separation and Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Activity

Exploration of high-performance and stable metal-oxide-based hybrid photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution is highly desirable. In this work, novel SrTiO3 nanoparticle/SnNb2O6 nanosheet hybrid 0D/2D heterojunctions with an interfacial interaction were constructed by a facile two-step wet chemistry strategy. Different characterization techniques were adopted to investigate the microscopic structures and physicochemical properties of the as-prepared hybrid heterojunctions. The optimal weight percent of SrTiO3 loading is 20 wt %, generating the highest H-2 evolution amount of 17.16 mu mol, which is 298 and 2 times higher than that of bare SrTiO3 and SnNb2O6. It can be suggested that an interfacial interaction among SrTiO3 and SnNb2O6 could result in efficient charge separation and enhanced H-2 generation activity, which was confirmed by photoelectrochemical analyses. This work implies that the construction of 0D/2D metal-oxide-based hybrid heterojunctions with an interfacial interaction is an effective way to fabricate high-performance photocatalyst for solar fuel production.