Visible light induced photocatalytic overall water splitting over micro-SiC driven by the Z-scheme system

We present the micro-sized SiC powder applying to overall water splitting under visible light irradiation without adding any sacrificial compounds. The stoichiometric amounts of H-2 and O-2 in 2:1 were obtained when using WO3 nanoparticle and Pt-loaded micro-SiC grains as the O-2 and Hy evolution photocatalysts, respectively. The relatively low efficiency step for splitting water reaction is the H+ reduction in the solution. Under optimal condition, the apparent quantum efficiency reaches up to 0.021% at 420 nm. Our results provide a method to enhance the photocatalytic activity of micro-sized SiC powder for overall water splitting using solar energy. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.