AUTHOR=Rodionov Ivan A. , Maksimova Elizaveta A. , Pozhidaev Artem Y. , Kurnosenko Sergey A. , Silyukov Oleg I. , Zvereva Irina A. 

TITLE=Layered Titanate H2Nd2Ti3O10 Intercalated With n-Butylamine: A New Highly Efficient Hybrid Photocatalyst for Hydrogen Production From Aqueous Solutions of Alcohols

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Chemistry

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/chemistry/articles/10.3389/fchem.2019.00863

DOI=10.3389/fchem.2019.00863

ISSN=2296-2646

ABSTRACT=<p>A layered perovskite-type oxide intercalated with <italic>n</italic>-butylamine is reported as an efficient photocatalyst for hydrogen production from aqueous solutions of alcohols for the first time. The hybrid photocatalyst H<sub>2</sub>Nd<sub>2</sub>Ti<sub>3</sub>O<sub>10</sub>×BuNH<sub>2</sub> was synthesized by solid-state ceramic method followed by protonation, intercalation of methylamine and subsequent substitution by <italic>n</italic>-butylamine. The product was characterized by powder XRD, TGA, STA-MS, DRS, IR, and Raman spectroscopy, CHN analysis, SEM. Intercalation of <italic>n</italic>-butylamine caused a dramatic increase in photocatalytic activity of H<sub>2</sub>Nd<sub>2</sub>Ti<sub>3</sub>O<sub>10</sub> in the reaction of hydrogen evolution from aqueous solutions of methanol, ethanol, and <italic>n</italic>-butanol under UV radiation. While the non-intercalated Pt-loaded H<sub>2</sub>Nd<sub>2</sub>Ti<sub>3</sub>O<sub>10</sub> showed a maximum quantum efficiency of only 2% in the 220–340 nm range, the efficiency for hybrid samples reached 23% under the same conditions and after variation of experimental parameters even 52% efficiency was achieved. This effect may be associated with the significant expansion of the interlayer space, which is considered as a separate reaction zone.</p>