Pt-Co Alloys-Loaded Cubic SiC Electrode with Improved Photoelectrocatalysis Property

A novel composite photocatalyst was synthesized by loading 5 wt % of platinum cobalt alloy on 3C-SiC nanowires and powder (Pt-Co-SiC) respectively via a simple polyol reduction method. Pt-Co-SiC were comprehensively characterized by SEM, HRTEM, XRD, PL, and XPS. The results indicated that Pt-Co nanoparticles in the size of 2-5 nm were dispersed homogeneously in the SiC nanowires and powders. The photocurrent response of the Pt-Co-SiC increased remarkably with increasing Pt content and the best performance was observed with the sample of Pt₃Co-SiC. Especially, the Pt₃Co-SiC nanowires photoelectrode exhibited improved cathodic current density (0.14 mA·cm-2) under the simulated sunlight, which was about 10 times higher than the Pt₃Co-SiC powders. The H₂ production rate for the Pt₃Co-SiC nanowires is 30 times more than that of the pure SiC nanowires. The enhancement of the Pt-Co-SiC properties could be ascribed to the fact that more visible light was harvested and the photogenerated electron and the interfacial electron transfered more easily.