Near-Infrared-Induced Photothermal Enhanced Photocatalytic H₂ Production for 3D/2D Heterojunctions of Snowflake-like CuS/g-C₃N₄ Nanosheets

Abstract

The conversion of solar power to hydrogen (H 2 ) energy efficiently encounters some obstacles due to the lack of superior catalysts and efficient catalytic approaches. Herein, three-dimensional/ two-dimensional (3D/2D) CuS/g-C 3 N 4 photothermal catalysts were obtained via an easy, one-step hydrothermal method after pyrolysis. The favorable heterojunction interface for H 2 production was constructed by snowflake-like CuS embedded in the graphite carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ) nanosheets, leading to the acceleration of charge transfer and separation, decrease of charge transfer distance, and perfect realization of photothermal effects (PTEs) induced by nearinfrared (NIR) light. The 3D/2D CuS/g-C 3 N 4 catalyst presents a topmost H 2 -production rate (1422 μmol h −1 g −1 ) under dual wavelength (420 + 850 nm) and a moderate H 2 -production rate under 420 nm, which are 12-fold and 9-fold higher than pure g-C 3 N 4 , respectively, owing to a strong action from PTEs induced by NIR. The feasible NIR-enhanced photothermal catalysis is expected to apply in multifarious heat-assisted photocatalysis processes by designing multifunctional composites with super PTE and photocatalytic capacity.

Plasma synthesis of oxygen vacancy-rich CuO/Cu2(OH)3NO3 heterostructure nanosheets for boosting degradation performance

“…33 The strong interfacial interaction reduces charge movement distance, accelerates the charge transfer rate, boosts free radical generation, and improves the catalytic degradation of MO. [34][35][36][37] It is also consistent with the XRD results.…”

In Situ Fabrication of a 2D/2D MXene/CN Heterojunction for Photothermally Assisted Photocatalytic Sterilization under Visible Light Irradiation

“…We have performed photoelectrochemical measurements to examine the separation and transfer capability of photogenic carriers as shown in panels a and b of Figure . The MCN 2:1 photocatalyst displayed a higher photocurrent and a smaller electrochemical impedance with and without illumination compared to those of the pure CN sample, demonstrating that the construction of 2D/2D MXene/CN could conspicuously restrict the recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs and expedite the charge transfer along the 2D interface . The photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) characterization further corroborated the results mentioned above because the peak intensity of MCN at 450 nm was significantly lower than that of CN (Figure c).…”

Advances in Photothermal Catalysis: Mechanisms, Materials, and Environmental Applications

“…A CuS/g-C 3 N 4 with a compact heterojunction structure was fabricated, resulting in the preferable realization of converting NIR light into heat and acceleration of charge transfer and separation. 120 On that basis, a recent experimental study indicated that a CoCr 2 O 4 /g-C 3 N 4 heterojunction emerged for the first time and exhibited high activity for hydrogen evolution. 119 According to XPS spectra and DFT calculations (Figure 7a−c), the existence of OVs can provide abundant free electrons, which oscillated to form the LSPR effect under the excitation of light, 127 creating favorable circumstances for broadening NIR-light absorption and elaborating photogenerated charges transformation.…”