Plasmonic Mo-doped HNb3O8 nanosheets with tunable energy band structures for photothermal catalytic H2 evolution in Full Solar Spectrum

Ultrathin Mo-HNb3O8 nanosheets were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal process. Introducing low-valence Mo and oxygen vacancies into the pristine HNb3O8 nanosheets can modulate the band structure and induce the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), which not only efficiently promotes the separation and transfer of photo-generated carriers, but also improves the high utilization rate of solar energy in photothermal catalytic hydrogen evolution in all solar spectrum. The optimized MoNb-10 exhibits the highest H2 evolution rate (220.4 μmol h-1 g-1), which is approximate 7.7 times higher than that of the HNb3O8 nanosheet. The current work not only deepens our understanding LSPR effects generated from the Mo dopant and OVs on the surface of transition metal oxide nanosheets, also provides clues for exploring new photothermal catalyst to promote future solar energy conversion.