Photocatalytic hydrogen production from water under visible light irradiation using a dye-sensitized attapulgite nanocrystal photocatalyst

Attapulgite (ATP), not only as a type of natural and low cost silicate clay mineral but also as a high quality nanosized material with large surface area, layered and lath-like structure, has been found to have a wide variety of industrial applications. The ideal composition of ATP is Mg5Si8O20(OH)(2)(OH2)(4). However, according to previous reports from different countries in the world, it is very important for our research that the actual composition of ATP varies because of partial replacement of magnesium by aluminum, iron, titanium and other elements. Herein, we have successfully used this dye sensitized clay mineral (raw and purified) to effectively reduce water for hydrogen generation under visible light irradiation. Further chemical analysis as well as computational simulation (CS) proposed that the natural Fe-doping (two ATP crystal cells sharing one Fe atom) can promote the photocatalytic process.