Synthesis of Cu2O/La2CuO4 nanocomposite as an effective heterostructure photocatalyst for H2 production

• La2CuO4 is an active photocatalyst for hydrogen production.
• Cu2O greatly enhance the photocatalytic activity of La2CuO4.
• La2CuO4 is proved to be thermodynamically feasible for H2 evolution.

A perovskite-like compound La2CuO4-based material, a well-known high-temperature superconductor, was studied as a photocatalyst. H2 was produced over La2CuO4 from aqueous solutions containing methanol as a sacrificial reagent under high-pressure Hg lamp irradiation. The photocatalytic activity of La2CuO4 is superior to that of the commercial anatase TiO2, and can be greatly improved by loading with Cu2O. Photoelectrochemical measurements revealed that the conduction band minimum of the La2CuO4 photocatalysts is thermodynamically feasible for the reduction reaction of water and Cu2O efficiently increase the electron–hole separation on La2CuO4 under photon irradiation to account for its higher photocatalytic activity.

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