Synthesis of Pt-CeVO₄ nanocomposites and their enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity under sunlight

The environmental pollution problem caused by fossil fuels, a nonrecyclable resource, becomes more serious every year. Therefore, the development of technology to produce alternative energy in a carbon–neutral way is urgent. In this regard, solar-powered H₂ production from water using particulate photocatalysts is considered the most economical and robust approach to producing carbon–neutral H₂ fuels. Using Pt-CeVO₄ nanocomposites with controllable amounts of Pt nanoparticles (NPs) on CeVO₄ as a photocatalyst, a superior H₂ production rate of 220.68 mmol g^-1h⁻¹ was achieved, which was five times higher than that of Pt NPs. In the Pt-CeVO₄ catalyst, CeVO₄ affected the electron density of Pt through upward band bending, which dramatically improved the H₂ generation ability. Our research is a competent study that satisfies the dual purpose of 1) achieving maximum reaction efficiency using a small amount of noble metal while providing important insights that 2) proper contact of metal and semiconductor materials can exponentially enhance photocatalytic performance.