Enhanced n→π* electron transition of porous P-doped g-C3N4 nanosheets for improved photocatalytic H2 evolution performance. Issue 6 (15th April 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Su, Chunyan; Zhou, Yazhou; Zhang, Lili; Yu, Xiaohui; Gao, Shuai; Sun, Xiujuan; Cheng, Chao; Liu, Qinqin; Yang, Juan
• Is Part Of: Ceramics international. Volume 46:Issue 6(2020)
• Page Start: 8444
• Page End: 8451
• Publication Date: 2020-04-15
• Subjects: Graphitic g-C3N4 -- P dopant -- Photocatalytic H2 evolution; Ceramics -- Periodicals; Céramique industrielle -- Périodiques; Ceramics; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 666
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2019.12.079
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0272-8842

Abstract

Abstract: Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3 N4 ) has been demonstrated to be a rising star among semiconductor materials for photocatalytic hydrogen (H2 ) production. However, pristine g-C3 N4 usually suffers from inferior activity due to the inadequate visible light harvesting capacity and quick charge recombination. Herein, porous P doped g-C3 N4 nanosheets (PCNNSs) were fabricated via a simple thermal condensation of adenosine phosphate and urea followed by thermal exfoliation method. The synergetic effect of the porous structure and P dopant can provide abundant active sites for the photocatalytic reaction, which can enhance light absorption range extending from 450 nm to 700 nm attributed to the n→π* electronic transition, and improve hydrophilicity for easier water molecules adsorption via introducing hydroxyl groups. Furthermore, impurity level caused by the P dopant would change the excitation process and accelerate the charge separation efficiency. Therefore, the PCNNSs exhibited significantly elevated photocatalytic H2 generation performance (9523.7 μmolg -1 h -1 ) under visible-light (λ > 420 nm) irradiation, which was about 20 times that of unmodified g-C3 N4 (458 μmol -1 h -1 ).