We fabricated an Ag-inserted hetero-junction photocatalyst for water-splitting under visible light, similar to a Z-scheme system but is not required for a redox mediator. In this system, Ag acts as a solid electron mediator for water-splitting. We selected ZnRh2O4 (Eg=1.2 eV) and AgSbO3 (Eg=2.5 eV) as H2- and O2-photocatalysts, respectively. Ag could be inserted between these photocatalysts using a thermal-decomposition reaction of Ag2O and following melt reaction of Ag. In short, commercially available powder of Ag2O and prepared powders of ZnRh2O4 and AgSbO3 were thoroughly mixed and heat-treated at 900oC, which is slightly lower than the melting temperature of Ag. Then, the obtained powder was washed with HNO3 aqueous solution to remove excess Ag. We demonstrated that the inserted Ag could shuttle photo-generated electrons from AgSbO3 to ZnRh2O4, resulting in the overall water-splitting under visible light irradiation (> 460 nm).

Silver-inserted hetero-junction photocatalyst for water-splitting under visible light

248th National Meeting (2014)

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