Enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production by interface modification of 1D H2Ti3O7 structures: Effects of phase modulation and CuO co-catalyst
Por:
García-Contreras L.A., Ramírez-Ortega D., Flores-Flores J.O., Zanella R., Chávez-Carvayar J.Á.
Publicada:
1 ene 2026
Ahead of Print:
1 ago 2026
Resumen:
© 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/In the present work, the performance of TiO2 materials featuring different one-dimensional morphologies consisting of modulated combinations of brookite, anatase, and rutile phases was evaluated in the photocatalytic production of hydrogen. These materials were synthesized by a hydrothermal method, starting from H2Ti3O7 nanobelts. The variation of synthesis conditions of the hydrothermal method, such as HCl concentration and reaction time, enabled the modulation and formation of different proportions of brookite, anatase and rutile phases. The combination of crystalline phases enhanced the photocatalytic activity of the materials, doubling the hydrogen production (C3M-2h, 200.8 µmol) compared to the reference material (Degussa P25, 108.9 µmol). Subsequently, the synthesized materials that achieved better hydrogen production were surface modified by depositing 1?wt% Cu through the wet impregnation method. This modification accomplished the improvement of the reaction yield by increasing the hydrogen production rate up to 146 µmol·h-1, approximately 18 times higher than that of the base material. The characterization of the materials by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-Vis spectroscopy, and Fluorescence emission spectroscopy measurements confirmed that the modulation of the crystalline phases and presence of CuO on the surface of the synthesized materials improved the mobility and separation of the (e--h+) pairs, which generated less recombination and higher photocatalytic activity.
Filiaciones:
García-Contreras L.A.:
Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510, Mexico City
Ramírez-Ortega D.:
Laboratorio de Calidad del Aire, Departamento de Ingeniería en Sistemas Ambientales, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Av. Wilfrido Massieu s/n, U.P Adolfo López Mateos, Gustavo A. Madero, Ciudad de Mexico, 07738, Mexico
Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Sciences, Avenida Lago de Guadalupe KM 3.5, Margarita Maza de Juárez, López Mateos, Mexico City 52926, Mexico
Flores-Flores J.O.:
Instituto de Ciencias Aplicadas y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510, Mexico City, Mexico
Zanella R.:
Instituto de Ciencias Aplicadas y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510, Mexico City, Mexico
Chávez-Carvayar J.Á.:
Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510, Mexico City
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