Photocatalytic hydrogen production by Au–MxOy (MAg, Cu, Ni) catalysts supported on TiO2

•Synergetic combination of Au and Cu for photocatalytic hydrogen production•Metal oxides combined with Au nanoparticles as co-catalysts for hydrogen production•Enhancement of the photoactivity due to an effective electron transfer to Au–MxOy

Au–MxOy (MAg, Cu, Ni) nanoparticles supported on TiO2–P25 were prepared by the deposition–precipitation method and were evaluated for the photocatalytic water splitting reaction for hydrogen production, using a mixture of water–methanol (1:1). The combinations of Au–Cu2O/TiO2 and Au–NiO/TiO2 effectively increased the hydrogen production (2064 and 1636 μmol·h− 1·g− 1) obtained by Au/TiO2 (1204 μmol·h− 1·g− 1). The higher photoactivities achieved by Au–Cu2O and Au–NiO nanoparticles deposited on TiO2 were attributed to an enhancement of the electron charge transfer from TiO2 to the Au–MxOy systems and the effect of surface plasmon resonance of gold nanoparticles.

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