Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon‐Coated CuO‐In₂O₃ p–n Heterojunction for Remarkable Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

Abstract

CuO as a catalyst has shown promising application prospects in photocatalytic splitting of water into hydrogen (H2). However, the instability of CuO in amine aqueous solution limits the applications of CuO‐based photocatalysts in the photocatalytic H2 evolution. In this work, a novel dodecahedral nitrogen (N)‐doped carbon (C) coated CuO‐In2O3 p–n heterojunction (DNCPH) is designed and synthesized by directly pyrolyzing benzimidazole‐modified dodecahedral Cu/In‐based metal‐organic frameworks, showing long‐term stability in triethanolamine (TEOA) aqueous solution and excellent photocatalytic H2 production efficiency. The improved stability of DNCPH in TEOA solution is ascribed to the alleviation of electron deficiency in CuO by forming the p–n heterojunction and the protection with coated N‐doped C layer. Based on detailed theoretical calculations and experimental studies, it is found that the improved separation efficiency of photogenerated electron/hole pairs and the mediated adsorption behavior (|∆GH*|→0) by coupling N‐doped C layer with CuO‐In2O3 p–n heterojunction lead to the excellent photocatalytic H2 production efficiency of DNCPH. This work provides a feasible strategy for effectively applying CuO‐based photocatalysts in photocatalytic H2 production.

Photoelectrochemical Water‐Splitting Using CuO‐Based Electrodes for Hydrogen Production: A Review

“…[ 47–52 ] The CuO with a narrow bandgap is one of the few photocatalysts with high activity for photocatalysis of HER under simulated sunlight irradiation, especially when combined with other photocatalysts. [ 35,53–57 ] According to the theoretical investigation, achieving a maximum photocurrent density of 35 mA cm −2 has been predicted for the CuO‐based photocathodes. [ 58 ] Cupric oxide is one of the low‐cost semiconductors that can be obtained by the high amount of copper at earth crust or from the recovery operation of electronic wastes that contain a large amount of Cu wires scraps.…”

Identification of the Charge Transfer Channel in Cobalt Encapsulated Hollow Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon Matrix@CdS Heterostructure for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

“…The traditional fossil fuels depletion has triggered a series of environment problems such as air contamination and global warming. [ 1 ] Nowadays, it has been in an urgent demand to build a sustainable energy economy system. Hydrogen energy as the clean and renewable carbon‐neutral energy has attracted extensive attentions.…”

A Review of MOFs and Their Composites‐Based Photocatalysts: Synthesis and Applications

“…Metal oxides are also excellent co‐catalysts to improve the photocatalytic activity of MOFs‐based photocatalysts because of their excellent chemical and physical properties. [ 174–176 ] Until now, many metal oxides have been utilized as co‐catalysts for MOFs, [ 177–188 ] such as TiO 2 , [ 177,178,180,183,184 ] BiVO 4 , [ 179 ] Fe 2 O 3 , [ 181,185,188 ] CuO, [ 186 ] Cu 2 O, [ 182,187 ] etc.…”