SrSnO-Assembled MWCNT Heterojunctions for Superior Hydrogen Production under Visible Light.

A one-step sol-gel method for SrSnO nanoparticle synthesis and the incorporation of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) to produce a SrSnO@MWCNT photocatalyst is presented. The incorporation of MWCNTs results in enhancement of structural, optical, and optoelectrical properties of SrSnO. The optimized 3.0% addition of MWCNTs results in light absorption enhancement and a reduction of the band gap from 3.68 to 2.85 eV. Upon application of the photocatalyst in the photocatalytic hydrogen production reaction, SrSnO@MWCNT-3.0% yields 4200 μmol g of H in just 9 h with the use of 1.6 g L of the photocatalyst. SrSnO@MWCNT exhibits remarkable chemical and photocatalytic stability upon regeneration. Enhanced photocatalytic ability is attributed to improved surface properties and charge-carrier recombination suppression induced by the MWCNT addition. This study highlights the remarkable improvements in chemical and physical properties of semiconductors with MWCNT incorporation.