Al-Incorporated Mesoporous Silica Supported ZnFe2O4 for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

Non-noble metal photocatalysts have received widespread attention with the popularity of photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Here, a brand-new series of ZnFe2O4/Al-MCM-41 photocatalysts were synthesized with a simple hydrothermal strategy and analyzed through various characterizations. The results revealed that 40 % loading of Zinc ferrite (ZnFe2O4) showed the most remarkable hydrogen evolution effect without noble metal decorated. It has a maximum photocatalytic hydrogen evolution of 4525.4 mu mol g(-1) in 3 h, which is about 5.4 times higher than that of pure ZnFe2O4. These results are mainly owing to the loading of Al-MCM-41, which can provide more surface reaction sites and delay the recombination of charges and holes. Moreover, the composite shows good cyclability and stability, with a high hydrogen evolution after three repeated cycles.