Hydrogen Generation over RuO₂ Nanoparticle-Decorated LaNaTaO₃ Perovskite Photocatalysts under UV Exposure

The efficacy of LaNaTaO₃ perovskites decoration RuO₂ at diverse contents for the photocatalytic H₂ generation has been explored in this study. The photocatalytic performance of RuO₂ co-catalyst onto mesoporous LaNaTaO₃ was evaluated for H₂ under UV illumination. 3%RuO₂/LaNaTaO₃ perovskite photocatalyst revealed the highest photocatalytic H₂ generation performance, indicating that RuO₂ nanoparticles could promote the photocatalytic efficiency of LaNaTaO₃ perovskite significantly. The H₂ evolution rate of 3%RuO₂/LaNaTaO₃ perovskite is 11.6 and 1.3 times greater than that of bare LaNaTaO₃ perovskite employing either 10% CH₃OH or pure H₂O, respectively. Interestingly, the photonic efficiency of 3%RuO₂/LaNaTaO₃ perovskite was enhanced 10 times than LaNaTaO₃ perovskite in the presence of aqueous CH₃OH solutions as a hole sacrificial agent. The high separation of charge carriers is interpreted by the efficient hole capture using CH₃OH, hence leading to greater H₂ generation over RuO₂/LaNaTaO₃ perovskites. This is attributed to an adjustment position between recombination electron-hole pairs and also the reduction of potential conduction alignment as a result of RuO₂ incorporation. The suggested mechanisms of RuO₂/LaNaTaO₃ perovskites for H₂ generation employing either CH₃OH or pure H₂O were discussed. The photocatalytic performances of the perovskite photocatalyst were elucidated according to the PL intensity and the photocurrent response investigations.