Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2021, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (1): 107-114.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(20)63559-8

• Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

In situ construction of protonated g-C3N4/Ti3C2 MXene Schottky heterojunctions for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production

Haotian Xua, Rong Xiaoa, Jingran Huanga, Yan Jianga,#(), Chengxiao Zhaob, Xiaofei Yanga,b,c,*()   

  1. aSchool of Materials Science & Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, Jiangsu, China
    bCollege of Science, Institute of Materials Physics and Chemistry, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, Jiangsu, China
    cKey Laboratory for Photonic and Electronic Bandgap Materials, Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Harbin Normal University, Harbin 150025, Heilongjiang, China
  • Received:2020-02-28 Accepted:2020-04-18 Online:2021-01-18 Published:2020-01-15
  • Contact: Yan Jiang,Xiaofei Yang
  • About author:#E-mail: jiangy@ujs.edu.cn
    *E-mail: xiaofei.yang@njfu.edu.cn;
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(21975129);Six Talent Peaks Project in Jiangsu Province(2015-XCL-026);Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province(BK20171299);Start-up Fund from Nanjing Forestry University;State Key Laboratory of Photocatalysis on Energy and Environment, Fuzhou University(SKLPEE-KF201705)

Abstract:

Abstract: Converting sustainable solar energy into hydrogen energy over semiconductor-based photocatalytic materials provides an alternative to fossil fuel consumption. However, efficient photocatalytic splitting of water to realize carbon-free hydrogen production remains a challenge. Heterojunction photocatalysts with well-defined dimensionality and perfectly matched interfaces are promising for achieving highly efficient solar-to-hydrogen conversion. Herein, we report the fabrication of a novel type of protonated graphitic carbon nitride (PCN)/Ti3C2 MXene heterojunctions with strong interfacial interactions. As expected, the two-dimensional (2D) PCN/2D Ti3C2 MXene interface heterojunction achieves a highly improved hydrogen evolution rate (2181 μmol∙g-1) in comparison with bulk g-C3N4 (393 μmol∙g-1) and protonated g-C3N4 (816 μmol∙g-1). The charge-regulated surfaces of PCN and the accelerated charge transport at the face-to-face 2D/2D Schottky heterojunction interface are the major contributors to the excellent hydrogen evolution performance of the composite photocatalyst.

 

Key words: g-C3N4, Ti3C2, Hybridization, Schottky heterojunction, Protonation, Photocatalytic hydrogen production