A red La(OH)3/TiO2:B,N composite photocatalyst for broad-band visible-light-driven hydrogen evolution

• A red La(OH)3/TiO2:B,N composite was synthesized via a three-step synthetic route.
• La element was found to be covered on the surface of TiO2 in the form of La(OH)3.
• 1.5% La added sample shows 30-fold increase compared with the sample without La.

A red La(OH)3/TiO2:B,N composite photocatalyst with broad-band visible-light-response was successfully synthesized through a three-step synthetic route. Structural, morphologic, optical and surface characteristics of the as-prepared photocatalysts were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, UV–vis, BET and XPS measurements. The 1.5% La added sample exhibited a high photocatalytic performance (48 μmol h−1) in the presence of K2CO3 as the sacrificial agent under visible-light irradiation (λ > 400 nm), which is almost a 24-fold increase compared with the sample without La added.

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