Nanoparticles La-NaTaO3 photocatalyst has been synthesized via a sol-gel route. A Ni
nanoparticle (NPs) as a cocatalyst is loaded on La-NaTaO3 by a simple impregnation method.
The products are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope
(SEM), a high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) and X-ray photoelectron
spectroscopy (XPS). X-ray diffraction of the La-NaTaO3 samples shows perovskite-type
crystalline orthorhombic structure. Small particulate solids of La-NaTaO3 (30-250 nm) are
observed by SEM measurement. The nickel particles are detected from HRTEM images is
around 4-8 nm. The hydrogen evolution over La-NaTaO3 with NaCl is much higher than that
without NaCl. The photoactivity of La-NaTaO3 is enhanced when Ni is loaded on the surface
of La-NaTaO3. The optimum loading amount of nickel is found to be 0.3 wt.% for La-NaTaO3,
and it is more effective for H2 production from NaCl-water solution in the presence glucose.
It is revealed that the loaded Ni can interact with each other and cooperate on improving the
photocatalytic activity. In the case of glucose as an electron donor, the activity of
photocatalytic hydrogen generation over Ni/La-NaTaO3 increases dramatically. NaCl and
glucose can promote markedly the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. The Ni/La-NaTaO3
nanoparticles system appears to be a promising candidate, which is very important to practical
applications, including the production of H2 from NaCl-water solution in the presence of
glucose.

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