Facile synthesis of highly efficient Pt/N-rGO/N-NaNbO3 nanorods toward photocatalytic hydrogen production.

• Pt/N-rGO/N-NaNbO 3 photocatalyst prepared by two-step hydrothermal method. • Excellent hydrogen evolution rate of 2342 μmol g−1 h−1 is attained. • 0.5%Pt/0.5%N-rGO/N-NaNbO 3 shows 9-fold higher activity than pure NaNbO 3. • 0.5%Pt/0.5%N-rGO/N-NaNbO 3 exhibited the super stability (more than 4 cycles). • The light absorption, band gap and electron transfer properties were improved. Highly efficient and stable Pt/N-rGO/N-NaNbO 3 nanorod photocatalysts were prepared by a facile two-step hydrothermal method for the first time. An excellent hydrogen evolution rate of 2342 μmol g−1 h−1 is attained by 0.5%Pt/0.5%N-rGO/N-NaNbO 3 under mimic sunlight irradiation, which is evidently higher than those of both the pristine NaNbO 3 nanorod (241 μmol g−1 h−1) presented in this work and several modified NaNbO 3 catalysts reported in the preceding literatures. Such a huge improvement in the photocatalytic performance is mainly attributed to the narrowed band gap of NaNbO 3 nanorod by the doping of nitrogen element, the increased light absorption over the entire range of wavelength by the introduction of N-rGO, and the reduced electron-hole recombination rate by the excellent electron transfer properties of N-rGO and Pt nanoparticles. This innovative work may suggest a meaningful approach for developing a more appealing and practical method to modify sodium niobate for photocatalytic hydrogen generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]