Hydrogen generated from solar-driven photocatalytic water splitting has the potential to be a clean, sustainable and abundant energy source. Herein, we demonstrate that Pd-MgNix nanospheres/black-TiO2 porous films serve as a highly efficient and convenient catalyst for photogeneration of hydrogen from water. Near-complete suppression of surface recombination ensures the excellent photocatalytic activity of Pd-MgNix nanospheres/black-TiO2 porous films, corresponding to high hydrogen production rates (34.93 mmol h(-1) g(-1)). The result is promising for overall solar water splitting in a simple system, and is encouraging for application of this surface modification strategy to other candidate semiconductors. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.