Hydrothermal Preparation and Photocatalytic Water Splitting Properties of ZrW_2O_8

ZrW2O8 was prepared by adjusting Zr：W mole ratio and HCl concentration in hydrothermal reaction processes.The obtained sample was crystallized in α-ZrW2O8 phase （cubic,P213）,with band gap energy of 4.0 eV.The properties of photocatalytic water splitting were examined under UV light irradiation.The average rate of H2 evolution over 0.3wt% Pt/ZrW2O8 in the presence of CH3 OH as electron donor （ED） was 23.4 μmol/h,while the average rate of O2 evolution over ZrW2O8 in the presence of AgNO3 as electron scavenger （ES） was 9.8 μmol/h.Moreover,H2 was evolved over 0.3wt% Pt/ZrW2O8 from pure water splitting at a rate of 5.2 μmol/h.The study indicated that the band structure of ZrW2O8 was suitable for reducing H ＋ to H2 and oxidizing H2O to O2.The band structure and photocatalytic water splitting properties of ZrW2O8,different from either ZrO2 （5.0 eV） or WO3 （2.7 eV）,were attributed to the hybridization of W5d and Zr4d in conduction band （CB） as well as the change in crystal structure.