Nitrogen Vacancy‐Induced Deposition of Pd Nanoparticles onto g‐C₃N₄ with Greatly Improved Photocatalytic Activity in H₂ Evolution

Abstract

C3N4 exhibits excellence in photocatalytic water splitting. However, some hindrances should be overcome before its wide application. Herein, nitrogen vacancies (NVs) are successfully introduced in C3N4. As‐fabricated NVs act as targets to induce the deposition of Pd nanoparticles (NPs). Photocatalytic activity in H2 evolution for C3N4 is improved from none to 10.12 μmol h−1 gcat−1 in the presence of NVs, and to 287.94 μmol h−1 gcat−1 with the modifications of both NVs and Pd NPs. The great improvement may be due to that: 1) the formation of NVs can drive up the Fermi level and optimize the band structure of C3N4; 2) the addition of the impure energy level of NV within the bandgap expands the utilization of the solar spectrum; 3) Pd NPs with the surface plasmonic resonance (SPR) effect are capable of absorbing more visible‐light photons; and 4) Pd acts as a reservoir of photogenerated charge carriers, suppressing its recombination. The mechanism of the enhancements is explored in detail and comprehensively discussed in this work.

Photocatalysis for Heavy Metal Treatment: A Review

“…The Fe-SA system used Fe(II) and CO 2 as intermediates while reducing Cr(VI) and oxidizing As(III) by the photoinduced ligand to metal charge transfer under UV light and adsorbing them (Figure 4). This efficient synergistic system enables the two heavy metals to reach more than 80% in a wide pH range (3)(4)(5)(6)(7). In this study, Cr(VI) was reduced to Cr(III) ions, and As(III) was oxidized to As(V) ions.…”

“…Photocatalysis is a popular technology among these new advanced oxidation technologies and exhibits promise in various areas [3][4][5][6][7]. Figure 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of the basic principle of the photocatalytic process.…”

Phase Transition in Cobalt Selenide with a Greatly Improved Electrocatalytic Activity in Hydrogen Evolution Reactions

“…12,14,15 However, doping and creating vacancies would trigger large lattice distortion and make it difficult to establish the connection between the intrinsic electronic structure and catalytic activity. 16 In principle, the HER performance mainly depended on the catalyst's intrinsic physical characteristics. 17 Therefore, designing cost-effective catalysts should focus on regulating the intrinsic electronic structure, such as structural phase transition.…”

Fabrication of Sulfur Defect Rich ZnIn2S4/SnSe2 Photocatalyst with Ohmic Junction for Efficient Water to Hydrogen Energy Conversion

“…[ 3 ] To stimulate the photocatalytic H 2 evolution efficiency, the primary task lies on seeking efficient and stable photocatalytic materials. Various photocatalysts including metal oxide (e.g., TiO 2 , [ 1,4 ] BaTiO 3 [ 5 ] and In 2 O 3 [ 6 ] ), metal sulfide (e.g., CdS, [ 7,8 ] ZnCdS solid solution [ 9 ] and ZnIn 2 S 4 [ 10,11 ] ), and metal‐free materials (e.g., g‐C 3 N 4 [ 12,13 ] and BP [ 14,15 ] ) have been developed as candidates for H 2 evolution. Among them, ZnIn 2 S 4 is one of the central photocatalysts because its well visible‐light responsive ability, suitable band structure and stable physicochemical property.…”