Issue 5, 2021

Highly enhanced H2 evolution of MoO3/g-C3N4 hybrid composites based on a direct Z-scheme photocatalytic system

Abstract

The Z-scheme photocatalytic system has great potential in solar energy conservation with simultaneous wide light-absorption range, efficient electron–hole pair separation and strong redox ability. Herein, a direct Z-scheme g-C3N4/MoO3 photocatalytic composite with oxygen vacancies is successfully fabricated via a facile in situ method of a one-pot pyrolysis strategy. The as-prepared g-C3N4/MoO3 possesses a porous architecture with increased specific surface area. The existence of an oxygen vacancy in MoO3 is verified by XPS, UV-DRS analysis and electrochemical measurements. The g-C3N4/MoO3 exhibits superior visible-light photocatalytic performance for water splitting, as evidenced by an about 17-fold (20.52 μmol h−1) increase in the rate of H2 evolution relative to pristine C3N4 (1.23 μmol h−1). According to the characterization results and boosted photocatalytic performance, the migration and separation of photoinduced charge carriers in g-C3N4/MoO3 follows a possible mechanism based on a Z-scheme photocatalytic system constructed by the oxygen vacancies. The O-vacancy functions as the recombination and storage center for fast charge transfer through two components. The combined effect of defective MoO3 and a Z-scheme interfacial heterojunction has achieved greatly enhanced photocatalytic performance. This work demonstrates the facilitation effect of an effective Z-scheme system involving oxygen vacancies on the charge transfer to enhance the photocatalytic activity for water splitting.

Graphical abstract: Highly enhanced H2 evolution of MoO3/g-C3N4 hybrid composites based on a direct Z-scheme photocatalytic system

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Research Article
Submitted
10 Okt. 2020
Accepted
30 Nov. 2020
First published
10 Dec. 2020

Inorg. Chem. Front., 2021,8, 1154-1165

Highly enhanced H2 evolution of MoO3/g-C3N4 hybrid composites based on a direct Z-scheme photocatalytic system

K. Li, W. Wu, Y. Jiang, Z. Wang, X. Liu, J. Li, D. Xia, X. Xu, J. Fan and K. Lin, Inorg. Chem. Front., 2021, 8, 1154 DOI: 10.1039/D0QI01222J

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