Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2025, Vol. 79: 162-173.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(25)64846-7

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Construction of Ag single atoms and nanoparticles co-modified g-C3N4 for synergistic plasma photocatalytic broad-spectrum hydrogen production

Weijie Zhan, Nan Yang, Tong Zhou(), Jin Zhang, Tianwei He, Qingju Liu()   

  1. Yunnan Key Laboratory for Micro/Nano Materials & Technology, Institute of International Rivers and Eco-security, School of Materials and Energy, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, Yunnan, China
  • Received:2025-07-03 Accepted:2025-08-25 Online:2025-12-18 Published:2025-10-27
  • Contact: Tong Zhou, Qingju Liu
  • Supported by:
    National Key Research and Development Program of China(2022YFB3803600);National Natural Science Foundation of China(22378346);National Natural Science Foundation of China(22368050);Key Research and Development Program of Yunnan Province(202302AF080002)

Abstract:

Solar-driven water splitting has emerged as a promising route for sustainable hydrogen generation, however, developing broad-spectrum responsive photocatalysts remains a challenge for achieving efficient solar-to-hydrogen conversion. Here, we demonstrate a g-C3N4 -based (UCN) catalyst with dispersed Ag single atoms (Ag SAs) and Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs) for synergistically broad-spectrum photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Experimental and theoretical results reveal that both Ag SAs and Ag NPs serve as active sites, with the Schottky junction between Ag NPs and g-C3N4 effectively promoting charge separation, while Ag NPs induce localized surface plasmon resonance, extending the light response range from visible to near-infrared regions. The optimized catalyst Ag-UCN-3 exhibits a hydrogen evolution rate as high as 22.11 mmol/g/h and an apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) of 10.16% under 420 nm light illumination. Notably, it still had a high hydrogen evolution rate of 633.57 μmol/g/h under 700 nm irradiation. This work unveils dual active sites engineering strategy that couples Ag SAs and Ag NPs with plasma and hot electrons, offering a new strategy for designing high-performance solar-driven energy systems.

Key words: g-C3N4, Ag nanoparticles, Ag single atoms, Localized surface plasmon resonance, Hot electrons