Au/MoS 2 /Ti 3 C 2 composite catalyst for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Au/MoS 2 /Ti 3 C 2 ternary composite photocatalysts were prepared by a noble metal deposition method and hydrothermal method. Through photocatalytic hydrogen evolution experiments, the photocatalytic activities of the composite catalysts with different Au particle loadings were studied. When the loading amount of Au particles is 5% (A5), the product has the largest specific surface area and excellent optical properties, exhibiting a high photocatalytic hydrogen evolution efficiency of 12 000 μmol g −1 h −1 with good cycling stability. The high catalytic activity is mainly due to the fact that nano-Au particles adsorbed on the MoS 2 /Ti 3 C 2 heterostructures have a surface plasmon resonance effect, which induces the generation of photogenerated electrons. The electrons on the nano-Au particles are excited and transferred to MoS 2 to generate H 2 during the catalytic reduction.