Anchoring single Pt atoms on hollow Ag3VO4 spheres for improved activity towards photocatalytic H2 evolution reaction

Abstract The high cost of noble metal catalysts has been a great bottleneck for the catalyst industry. Using the noble metal at a single-atom level for catalytic applications could dramatically decrease the cost. The impacts of single Pt atoms on the photocatalytic performance of Ag3VO4 have been investigated and reported. In this report, single Pt atoms were anchored on the surface of Ag3VO4 (AVO) as a cocatalyst, and the resultant composite photocatalyst has been studied for photocatalytic H2 production from water driven by visible light. The as-prepared AVO particles are hollow nanospheres in the monoclinic phase with a bandgap of 2.20 eV. The light absorption edge of AVO/Pt is slightly red-shifted compared to that of the pristine AVO, indicating more visible light absorption of AVO/Pt. The XPS peaks of Ag, V, and Pt exhibit a significant shift after AVO and Pt get into contact, suggesting the strong interaction between the surface Ag and V atoms, and single Pt atoms. After 3-h illumination, the photocatalytic H2 evolution amount from AVO/Pt is improved up to 1400 μmol, which is 2.8 times that on the bare AVO. Such efficient photocatalytic H2 evolution on AVO/Pt is still maintained after five reaction cycles. The better photocatalytic performance of AVO/Pt has been attributed to the more efficient visible light utilization and the lower interfacial charge transfer resistance, as demonstrated in the DRS and EIS spectra. The presence of the surface Pt atoms also leads to a higher amount of reactive radicals, which could efficiently promote the surface redox reactions.