Hydrogen Production by Photocatalytic Water Splitting over Pt/TiO 2 Nanosheets with Exposed (001) Facets

Pt/TiO2 nanosheets with exposed (001) facets were fabricated by a simple hydrothermal route in a Ti(OC4H9)4-HF-H2O mixed solution followed by a photochemical reduction deposition of Pt nanoparticles on TiO2 nanosheets under xenon lamp irradiation. The prepared samples were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, nitrogen adsorption−desorption isotherms, UV−vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Production of •OH radicals on the TiO2 surface was detected by the PL technique using coumarin as a probe molecule. The effects of Pt loading on the rates of photocatalytic hydrogen production of the as-prepared…