Effect of electron-hole separation in MoO 3 @Ni 2 P hybrid nanocomposite as highly efficient metal-free photocatalyst for H 2 production.

Effectiveness and stability of photocatalyst are of importance not only for improving H2 evolution, but also for the realization of enhanced semiconductors property in practical applications. In this study, a novel MoO3 @Ni2 P hybrid nanostructure is successfully prepared by a two step strategy of one-pot pyrolysis followed by calcination method. The reasonable design and controllable preparation of MoO3 @Ni2 P make it exhibit much high photocatalytic activities for H2 evolution with about 39.8 and 15.8 times compared to the pure MoO3 and Ni2 P. This prominently increased effect is certified by results of various characterization such as SEM, TEM, XRD, XPS, BET, FT-IR, UV-vis DRS, transient photocurrent, steady-state fluorescence, transient-state fluorescence and Mott-Schottky studies etc. The investigation indicates that the assembly of Ni2 P nanoparticles and MoO3 can provide more active sites and accelerate the transfer of electrons. Moreover, the possible mechanism of photocatalytic H2 generation is proposed.