title: Highly efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution of graphene/YInO3 nanocomposites under visible light irradiation.
abstract: Visible-light-driven hydrogen evolution with high efficiency is important in the current photocatalysis research. Here we report for the first time the design and synthesis of a new graphene-semiconductor nanocomposite consisting of YInO3 nanoparticles and two-dimensional graphene sheets as efficient photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution under visible light irradiation. The graphene/YInO3 nanocomposites were synthesized using a facile solvothermal method in which the formation of graphene and the deposition of YInO3 nanoparticles on the graphene sheets can be achieved simultaneously. The addition of graphene as a cocatalyst can narrow the band gap of YInO3 to visible photon energy and prolong the separation and lifetime of electron-hole pairs by the chemical bonding between YInO3 and graphene. The photocatalytic reaction with this nanocomposite reaches a high H2 evolution rate of 400.4 μmol h(-1) g(-1) when the content of graphene is 0.5 wt%, over 127 and 3.7 times higher than that of pure YInO3 and Pt/YInO3, respectively. This work can provide an effective approach to the fabrication of graphene-based photocatalysts with high performance in the field of energy conversion.
authors.affiliation: National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230029, China. cgao@ustc.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jianjun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Wenhao
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Song
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gao
mesh_terms: D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry*; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000737:chemistry*; D007204:Indium / Q000737:chemistry*; D008027:Light; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D055668:Photochemical Processes; D012666:Semiconductors; D015019:Yttrium / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D007204:Indium; D015019:Yttrium; D006108:Graphite; D006859:Hydrogen