Design of Pt/t-ZrO2/g-C3N4 efficient photocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction

Photocatalytic efficiency of graphitic carbon nitride (g–C3N4) has been hindered by fast carrier recombination and high reaction energy barriers, which can be improved by combining a semiconductor with a large work function. Based on this strategy, we synthesized a novel Pt/t–ZrO2/g–C3N4 composite b...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Li, Huanhuan, Wu, Yong, Li, Can, Gong, Yinyan, Niu, Lengyuan, Liu, Xinjuan, Jiang, Qing, Sun, Changqing, Xu, Shiqing
Other Authors: School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/146811
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
Description
Summary:Photocatalytic efficiency of graphitic carbon nitride (g–C3N4) has been hindered by fast carrier recombination and high reaction energy barriers, which can be improved by combining a semiconductor with a large work function. Based on this strategy, we synthesized a novel Pt/t–ZrO2/g–C3N4 composite by integrating g–C3N4 with tetragonal ZrO2 and Pt nanoparticles. Results of experimental measurements and density functional theory simulation demonstrate that the carrier lifetime, transferability and energy barriers of catalysts depend on their work function. The optimal composite exhibits an extraordinary catalytic ability for hydrogen generation of 722.5 μmol(gh)−1 and solar–to–hydrogen energy conversion efficiency of 0.215% under visible–light irradiation, and high catalytic stability. The modification strategy could be applied to designing various different high–efficient catalysts by selecting semiconductors with suitable work functions.