Preparation of TiO2/WO3-corn straw based graphene-like composite and its low light catalytic hydrogen production performance and mechanism

In this paper, TiO2/WO3 corn straw graphene-like photocatalyst composite suitable for low light catalytic hydrogen production is prepared by one pot thermal synthesis method. The morphology and structural characteristics of TiO2/WO3 corn straw graphene-like compounds are analyzed. Based on the photoelectric characteristics and density functional theory simulation results, the energy band of TiO2/WO3 corn straw graphene-like composite material is reduced to 2.32 eV compared with pure TiO2 and WO3. The transfer rate of photogenerated carriers is accelerated, and the p-n heterostructure between TiO2 and WO3 interacts with graphene to promote the transfer of photogenerated electrons. Moreover, some photogenerated electrons reside on the graphene surface. Consequently, under low light irradiation, the efficiency of photogenerated electron transfer is increased and the hydrogen production performance is improved. The photocatalytic experiment showed that the hydrogen production rate of TiO2/WO3 corn straw graphene-like composite under low light irradiation is only 10% lower than that under visible light irradiation. Furthermore, the addition of graphene increases the specific surface area of the composite photocatalyst, which makes the composite material more adaptable to low light and improves its feasibility for industrial mass production.