Electron acceptor of Ni decorated porous carbon nitride applied in photocatalytic hydrogen production. Issue 46 (10th November 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bi, Lingling; Meng, Dedong; Bu, Qijing; Lin, Yanhong; Wang, Dejun; Xie, Tengfeng
• Is Part Of: Physical chemistry chemical physics. Volume 18:Issue 46(2016)
• Page Start: 31534
• Page End: 31541
• Publication Date: 2016-11-10
• Subjects: Chemistry, Physical and theoretical -- Periodicals; 541.3
• DOI: 10.1039/c6cp05618k
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1463-9076

Abstract

Abstract : Non-noble metal Ni as an electron acceptor can effectively improve photocatalytic hydrogen production. Abstract : Nickel, a non-noble metal, is one of the most promising candidates for photocatalysis because it is inexpensive and an earth-abundant metal. Herein, Ni/CM-C3 N4 nanocomposites with Ni as a cocatalyst were synthesized by a simple solvothermal method. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed that Ni nanoparticles were loaded onto the surface of CM-C3 N4 . The prepared Ni/CM-C3 N4 nanocomposites exhibited an enhanced hydrogen evolution activity. The most active catalyst contained 10% Ni and produced H2 at a rate of 313.2 μmol h −1 g −1, which was obviously higher than that of pure CM-C3 N4 . The results of photoluminescence (PL) and photoacoustics (PA) studies indicated that the recombination efficiency of photo-induced electron–hole pairs was decreased for CM-Ni10 as compared to that for unmodified CM-C3 N4 . The transient photovoltage (TPV) measurements directly demonstrated that the recombination time of electron–hole pairs in CM-Ni10 was prolonged. More importantly, the reversed surface photovoltage (SPV) and the declined surface photocurrent (SPC) response of CM-Ni10 revealed that the photogenerated electrons could be trapped by Ni, leading to a better separation efficiency and a superior hydrogen production. Finally, the possible mechanism is proposed to illuminate the photogenerated charge behavior between CM-C3 N4 and Ni, which might provide a theoretical basis to develop efficient cocatalysts for photocatalytic water splitting.