Abstract
We have prepared yttrium (Y)-doped hydrogen titanate nanorods (HTN) by a microwave-assisted hydrothermal method. Y-doped HTN showed much improved photocatalytic activities for both H(2) evolution and dye decomposition. H(2) production from a methanol-water solution under UV-visible light for 7 h was enhanced by a factor of 5.5 with 1 wt % Y-doping. Doping with Y(3+) ions reduced the band gap of HTN by ∼0.28 eV and induced new phases of anatase and rutile. High photocatalysis by Y-doping was attributed to enhanced light absorption (smaller band gap) and effective charge separation (heterojunction). To optimize H(2) production, a series of experiments examining effects of doping concentrations and non-noble surface metal (e.g., Ni, Cu, Co) loading were carefully performed. Y-doping in this work is a new and promising approach for synthesizing highly active HTN by producing the HTN/rutile/anatase heterostructure within the one-pot method.