Synthesis of novel C-doped g-C₃N₄ nanosheets coupled with CdIn₂S₄ for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Abstract

Photocatalytic hydrogen generation from water splitting has become a favorable route for the utilization of solar energy. An effective strategy, the combination of C-doping with nanocomposite semiconductors, is presented in this work. C-doped g-C3N4 (CCN) was prepared by supramolecular self-assembly and subsequently a number of CdIn2S4/CCN composite photocatalysts were designed and fabricated though in situ decoration of CdIn2S4 crystals on the surface of CCN nanosheets via a hydrothermal method. This unique architecture was able to efficiently promote the transfer and separation of photon-generated charges, enhance light absorption, and significantly increase photocatalytic H2 production. Detailed characterization was performed to analyze the crystal structure, morphology, elementary composition, optical properties and catalytic mechanism. The CdIn2S4/CCN nanocomposites with optimal CdIn2S4 content exhibited a maximum H2 production rate of 2985 μmol h−1 g−1, almost 15 times more than that obtained using pure g-C3N4 (205 μmol h−1 g−1). In addition, the hybrid photocatalysts display good recycling stability under visible-light irradiation. This research may provide promising information for the preparation of more efficient multifunctional hybrid photocatalysts with excellent stability in fine chemical engineering.

Photocatalytic activity enhancement of carbon‐doped g‐C3N4 by synthesis of nanocomposite with Ag2O and α‐Fe2O3

“…The diffraction peaks around 2θ = 13.1 (100) and 27.4 (002) correspond to the hexagonal crystal phase of CGNS (JCPDS 87-1,526) in all the prepared samples. [29,30] Furthermore, the diffraction peaks observed around 2θ = 32.7 (111), 38.0 (020), 55.0 (022), and 66 (131) are in agreement with the cubic crystal phase of Ag 2 O (JCPDS 41-1,104). [31] The diffraction peaks of α-Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles with the rhombohedral structure correspond well with JCPDS No.…”

“…It indicates that the CGNS was successfully synthesized. [30,33] The GF nanocomposite FE-SEM images are exhibited in Figure 2b. The uniformly distributed α-Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles on the CGNS surface were observed.…”

Rational design of 2D/2D ZnIn2S4/C3N4 heterojunction photocatalysts for enhanced photocatalytic H2 production

“…S3a, ESI †) exhibited three binding energy peaks at 284.1, 286.1 and 287.8 eV, which belong to the C-C, C-OH and N-CQN groups. 35 The high-resolution N 1s (Fig. S3b, ESI †) displayed three binding energy peaks at 398.2 eV, 399.7 eV, and 400.…”

A novel S-scheme MoS2/CdIn2S4 flower-like heterojunctions with enhanced photocatalytic degradation and H2 evolution activity

“…Up to now, a large amount of materials have been constructed and used to photocatalysis reaction due to their unique superiority, such as metal oxides [24,25], metal sulfides [25,26], phosphide [27], semiconductor-carbon [28] photocatalyts and so on. Among these, ternary chalcogenide (AB 2 X 4 : A = Cu, Zn, Ag, Mg, Cd; B = In; X = S) have raised extensive exploration as a visible-light-responding semiconductor for multifarious photocatalytic applications, due to their tunable optoelectronic property, robust chemical stability, and superb photocatalytic performance [29][30][31][32][33][34][35].…”