The development of high-efficiency, recyclable, and inexpensive photocatalysts for water splitting for hydrogen production is of great significance to the application of solar energy. Herein, a series of graphene-decorated polyoxoniobate photocatalysts Nb6/PPy-RGO (Nb6 = K7Nb6O19, RGO = reduced graphene oxide, PPy = polypyrrole), with the bridging effect of polypyrrole were prepared through a simple one-step solvothermal method, which is the first example of polyoxoniobate-graphene-based nanocomposites. The as-fabricated photocatalyst showed a photocatalytic H2 evolution activity without any co-catalyst. The rate of 1038 µmol g-1 in 5 h under optimal condition is almost 43 times higher than that of pure K7HNb6O19·13H2O. The influencing factors for photocatalysts in photocatalytic hydrogen production under simulated sunlight were studied in detail and the feasible mechanism is presented in this paper. These results demonstrate that Nb6O19 acts as the main catalyst and electron donor, RGO provides active sites, and PPy acted as an electronic bridge to extend the lifetime of photo-generated carriers, which are crucial factors for photocatalytic H2 production.
Keywords: H2 production; Nb6/PPy-RGO composites; electronic bridge; polyoxoniobate.