Photocatalytic hydrogen production over In2S3–Pt–Na2Ti3O7 nanotube films under visible light irradiation

Na2Ti3O7 nanotube films were prepared by hydrothermal treatment of Ti foils in NaOH solution. Pt and In2S3 were effectively deposited on the surface of the Na2Ti3O7 nanotube films by photochemical reduction and precipitation reaction, respectively. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). The results of XRD, XPS and SEM indicate that In2S3 is coupled on the surface of Na2Ti3O7 nanotube films. Compared with Na2Ti3O7 nanotube film, the absorption edges of In2S3–Na2Ti3O7 nanotube films are extended to the visible region, which lead to the visible light photocatalytic hydrogen production activities of In2S3–Na2Ti3O7 nanotube films. The experiment results show that the ternary hybrid In2S3–Pt–Na2Ti3O7 nanotube thin films possess much higher photocatalytic activities than In2S3–Na2Ti3O7 nanotube thin films. Moreover, the mechanism of photocatalysis over In2S3–Pt–Na2Ti3O7 nanotubes under visible light was discussed.