Enhanced Visible Light-Driven Photocatalytic Water-Splitting Reaction of Titanate Nanotubes Sensitised with Ru(II) Bipyridyl Complex

The ion exchange of Na(+) cations was used to photosensitise titanates nanotubes (Ti-NTs) with tris(2,2’-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) cations (Ru(bpy)(3)(2+)); this yielded a light-sensitised Ti-NTs composite denoted as (Ru(bpy)(3))Ti-NTs, exhibiting the characteristic absorption of Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) in visible light. Incident photon-to-current efficiency (IPCE) measurements and the photocatalytic reduction of methyl viologen reaction confirmed that in the photosensitisation of the (Ru(bpy)(3))Ti-NTs composite, charge transfer and charge separation occur upon excitation by ultraviolet and visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic potential of titanate nanotubes was tested in the water-splitting reaction and the H(2) evolution reaction using a sacrificial agent and showed photocatalytic activity under various light sources, including xenon–mercury lamp, simulated sunlight, and visible light. Notably, in the conditions of the H(2) evolution reaction when (Ru(bpy)(3))Ti-NTs were submitted to simulated sunlight, they exceeded the photocatalytic activity of pristine Ti-NTs and TiO(2) by a factor of 3 and 3.5 times, respectively. Also, (Ru(bpy)(3))Ti-NTs achieved the photocatalytic water-splitting reaction under simulated sunlight and visible light, producing, after 4 h, 199 and 282 μmol×H(2×)g(cat)(−1). These results confirm the effective electron transfer of Ru(bpy)(3) to titanate nanotubes. The stability of the photocatalyst was evaluated by a reuse test of four cycles of 24 h reactions without considerable loss of catalytic activity and crystallinity.