Investigation of One-Dimensional PAN/SrTiO3@Al Composite Nanofibers for Hydrogen Evolution

The development of promising photocatalysts for hydrogen production is one of the most important areas of research. Enhanced efficiency can be achieved by modifying the composition and creating composite structures, thereby improving the separation of photogenerated charge carriers. In this work, SrTiO3 (STO) and Al-doped SrTiO3 (SrTiO3@Al; hereafter denoted as ASTO) photocatalysts were synthesized, followed by the incorporation of Rh-, Cr-, and Co-containing cocatalysts to obtain ASTO@Rh/Cr/Co. Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based composite nanofibers containing the corresponding photocatalysts were prepared by electrospinning followed by carbonization. The synthesized materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, while their photoelectrochemical properties were evaluated using photocurrent measurements. The photocatalytic properties of the composites were investigated in hydrogen evolution reactions. The hydrogen evolution rate of the PAN/ASTO@Rh/Cr/Co composite was found to be 319.5 μmol·g–1·h–1, which is 1.96 times higher than that of PAN/STO and 6.64 times higher than that of the PAN/ASTO composite. These results demonstrate that the incorporation of Rh/Cr/Co cocatalysts into the PAN/ASTO composite substantially enhances photocatalytic hydrogen evolution under the investigated experimental conditions.