Sol–gel-hydrothermal synthesis of Er3+:Y3Al5O12/Pt–TiO2 membrane and visible-light driving photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from pollutants

• Er3+:Y3Al5O12 was mixed with TiO2 to enhance the sensitivity of TiO2 to visible-light.
• Steady Er3+:Y3Al5O12/Pt–TiO2 membrane is prepared by sol–gel hydrothermal synthesis method.
• Er3+:Y3Al5O12/Pt–TiO2 displays high visible-light photocatalytic H2 evolution activity.
• Pollutants are used to produce H2 in visible-light and Er3+:Y3Al5O12/Pt–TiO2 system.

A novel visible-light photocatalyst, Er3+:Y3Al5O12/Pt–TiO2 membrane, was prepared via sol–gel–hydrothermal method on glass substrates as a support. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) were used to reveal the crystallinity, surface morphology and chemical composition of the prepared Er3+:Y3Al5O12/Pt–TiO2 membrane. The catalytic activity of Er3+:Y3Al5O12/Pt–TiO2 membrane was examined through the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from some pollutants, including phenol, glycerol and Na2S/Na2SO3, which were used as electron donors, under visible-light irradiation. Furthermore, some influence factors, such as mass ratio, pre-treatment temperature and used times, on the photocatalytic activity of Er3+:Y3Al5O12/Pt–TiO2 membrane were studied. The experimental results showed that the Er3+:Y3Al5O12/Pt–TiO2 membrane is a good and broad-spectrum photocatalyst in visible-light photocatalytic hydrogen evolution with simultaneous pollutant solution treatment.

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