NiS/Pt loaded on electrospun TiO2 nanofiber with enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalytic hydrogen production.

• Multistep processes can successfully synthesize the TiO 2 /NiS/Pt nanofiber (NF). • The TiO 2 /NiS/Pt NF exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activity for H 2 evolution. • The HER over the TiO 2 /NiS/Pt NF has 292 times increase over pure TiO 2 NF. • TiO 2 /NiS/Pt NF can lead to carriers' higher separation and transfer efficiency. • TiO 2 /NiS/Pt NF can provide practical application in seawater splitting. The porous TiO 2 nanofiber has been synthesized via facile electrospinning and thermal annealing. Furthermore, the intermediate layer of NiS and Pt nanoparticles can be sequentially deposited on the porous TiO 2 nanofiber to form hierarchical core-shell TiO 2 /NiS/Pt nanofiber through wet-chemical and self-assembly processes. Compared with the TiO 2 (16 µmolh−1g−1 L−1) nanofiber and TiO 2 /NiS nanofiber (54 µmolh−1g−1 L−1), TiO 2 /NiS/Pt nanofiber (4411 µmolh−1g−1 L−1) revealed remarkably photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution from water under visible light excitation. The significant enhancement in photocatalytic activity over the TiO 2 /NiS/Pt nanofiber could be attributed to enhanced visible light absorption and the separation of photogenerated electrons and holes. Furthermore, reusability experiments prove that TiO 2 /NiS/Pt nanofiber exhibits excellent stability for the long-term photocatalytic process. In addition, TiO 2 /NiS/Pt nanofiber can also use photocatalytic hydrogen production under different water bases. Therefore, this study provides a promising strategy to develop a novel heterostructure photocatalyst for highly efficient energy conversion. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]