One-Step Hydrothermal Synthesis of Nanostructured MgBi₂O₆/TiO₂ Composites for Enhanced Hydrogen Production

A highly efficient MgBi2O₆ (MBO)/TiO₂ heterostructured photocatalyst for the evolution of H₂ was successfully prepared using a one-step hydrothermal method. The phase structure, microstructure and optical properties of the MBO/TiO₂ composites were investigated by various experimental techniques. A series of H₂ production experiments were performed under visible light. The measured results indicated that the nanostructured MBO/TiO₂ composite, with a stoichiometric molar ratio of MBO:TiO₂ = 0.2%, displayed the best H₂ production rate of 3413 μmol h^-1 g^-1. The excellent photocatalytic performance of the obtained composite material was due to the heterojunction formed between MBO and TiO₂, which reduced the charge transfer resistance and accelerated the separation efficiency of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs. The reaction mechanism was also discussed in detail.