Nanoarchitect and Defective Mesoporous RGO Nanoparticle-Integrated Ce/Ti Nanorod for Proficient Photocatalytic H₂ Generation in Visible Light

Nanorod and mesopore-enriched 0.1 RGO@Ce/Ti 2 has been synthesized via a control mixed template hydrothermal process. For comparison, single components such as CeO2 NPs and TiO2 nanocubes have been fabricated in the similar process. The control ratio of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as a template and polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a shape-directing agent is responsible for the fabrication of mesoporous nanostructure materials. The TEM and N2 sorption results depicted the nanostructure morphology and mesoporosity in all components, respectively. Induced defects such as Ti3+, Ce3+, and oxygen vacancy in the 0.1 RGO@Ce/Ti 2 composite have been proved by XPS analysis. UV–visible DRS measurement confirms the effective light absorption in visible light and the red shift of band gap energy. Lowering of photoluminescence (PL) intensity after incorporation of RGO in Ce/Ti established an efficient charge separator or cocatalyst. Further, N2 sorption measurements confirm the mesoporosity and high surface texture of nanocatalysts. The high photocurrent density (7.9 mA cm–2, 1.48 V), Mott–Schottky (−1.50 V), and low charge transfer resistance (31.8 Ω) significantly facilitate high photocatalytic H2 evolution (550 μmol h–1) by the 0.1 RGO@Ce/Ti 2 nanorod as compared to other as-synthesized nanocatalysts. Formation of defects (Ce3+ and Ti3+), oxygen vacancy, nanomorphology, mesoporosity, high charge density, long-range visible light absorption, and proficient charge separation are the key factors for effective H2 evolution by mesoporous 0.1 RGO@Ce/Ti 2 nanorods.