Issue 27, 2023

Enwrapping graphdiyne (g-CnH2n−2) on hollow NiCo2O4 nanocages derived from a Prussian blue analogue as a p–n heterojunction for highly efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Abstract

Graphdiyne (GDY) has shown promising application prospects in the photocatalytic splitting of water into hydrogen (H2). In this work, a new carbon material of GDY was prepared by a reduction elimination reaction assisted by ball milling, and then it was introduced into NiCo2O4 by cryogenic mixing. A novel NiCo2O4@GDY p–n heterojunction was designed and synthesized, showing an excellent photocatalytic hydrogen performance of 4.84 mmol g−1 h−1, which is 4.84 and 6.91 times that of GDY and NiCo2O4, respectively. The improved hydrogen evolution efficiency can be attributed to the built-in electric field establishment between GDY and NiCo2O4, which remarkably promotes the transfer and separation of photoexcitons. Additionally, the unique nanocage structure of Prussian blue analogue (PBA)-derived NiCo2O4 can increase the reflection/refraction efficiency of incident light and increase the utilization of sunlight. The possible mechanism at the NiCo2O4@GDY p–n heterojunction was proposed and discussed in combination with in situ irradiated X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (ISI-XPS), time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) spectroscopy, valence band XPS (VB-XPS), ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. As a whole, this work provides an effective strategy for the construction of a p–n heterojunction based on graphdiyne and PBA derivatives to improve photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

Graphical abstract: Enwrapping graphdiyne (g-CnH2n−2) on hollow NiCo2O4 nanocages derived from a Prussian blue analogue as a p–n heterojunction for highly efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
02 May 2023
Accepted
13 Jun 2023
First published
27 Jun 2023

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2023,11, 14971-14989

Enwrapping graphdiyne (g-CnH2n−2) on hollow NiCo2O4 nanocages derived from a Prussian blue analogue as a p–n heterojunction for highly efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

H. Xie, K. Wang, D. Xiang, S. Li and Z. Jin, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2023, 11, 14971 DOI: 10.1039/D3TA02598E

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements