Issue 48, 2012

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4)–Pt-TiO2 nanocomposite as an efficient photocatalyst for hydrogen production under visible light irradiation

Abstract

Porous graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) was prepared by a simple pyrolysis of urea, and then a g-C3N4–Pt-TiO2 nanocomposite was fabricated via a facile chemical adsorption followed by a calcination process. The obtained products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-vis diffuse reflectance absorption spectra, and electron microscopy. It is found that the visible-light-induced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate can be remarkably enhanced by coupling TiO2 with the above g-C3N4, and the g-C3N4–Pt-TiO2 composite with a mass ratio of 70 : 30 has the maximum photoactivity and excellent photostability for hydrogen production under visible-light irradiation, and the stable photocurrent of g-C3N4–TiO2 is about 1.5 times higher than that of the bare g-C3N4. The above experimental results show that the photogenerated electrons of g-C3N4 can directionally migrate to Pt-TiO2 due to the close interfacial connections and the synergistic effect existing between Pt-TiO2 and g-C3N4 where photogenerated electrons and holes are efficiently separated in space, which is beneficial for retarding the charge recombination and improving the photoactivity.

Graphical abstract: Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4)–Pt-TiO2 nanocomposite as an efficient photocatalyst for hydrogen production under visible light irradiation

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
20 Jul 2012
Accepted
15 Oct 2012
First published
16 Oct 2012

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2012,14, 16745-16752

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4)–Pt-TiO2 nanocomposite as an efficient photocatalyst for hydrogen production under visible light irradiation

B. Chai, T. Peng, J. Mao, K. Li and L. Zan, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2012, 14, 16745 DOI: 10.1039/C2CP42484C

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