Photocatalytic hydrogen production over In₂S₃-Pt- Na₂Ti₃O₇ nanotube films under visible light irradiation

Na₂Ti₃O₇ nanotube films were prepared by hydrothermal treatment of Ti foils in NaOH solution. Pt and In₂S ₃ were effectively deposited on the surface of the Na ₂Ti₃O₇ nanotube films by photochemical reduction and precipitation reaction, respectively. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). The results of XRD, XPS and SEM indicate that In ₂S₃ is coupled on the surface of Na₂Ti ₃O₇ nanotube films. Compared with Na₂Ti ₃O₇ nanotube film, the absorption edges of In ₂S₃-Na₂Ti₃O₇ nanotube films are extended to the visible region, which lead to the visible light photocatalytic hydrogen production activities of In₂S ₃-Na₂Ti₃O₇ nanotube films. The experiment results show that the ternary hybrid In₂S ₃-Pt-Na₂Ti₃O₇ nanotube thin films possess much higher photocatalytic activities than In₂S ₃-Na₂Ti₃O₇ nanotube thin films. Moreover, the mechanism of photocatalysis over In₂S ₃-Pt-Na₂Ti₃O₇ nanotubes under visible light was discussed.