Hantzsch ester as hole relay significantly enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen productionElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental section, TEM images, cyclic voltammogram, UV-vis absorption spectrum, comparison of photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rates under different sacrificial reagents. See DOI: 10.1039/c8cy01922c
Polymeric graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ) has emerged as a promising semiconductor photocatalytic material, which can convert solar energy into chemical energy under visible-light irradiation. However, because of the issue of recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, the photocataly...
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Main Authors | , , , , , , |
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Format | Journal Article |
Published |
26.11.2018
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Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Polymeric graphitic carbon nitride (g-C
3
N
4
) has emerged as a promising semiconductor photocatalytic material, which can convert solar energy into chemical energy under visible-light irradiation. However, because of the issue of recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, the photocatalytic efficiency of g-C
3
N
4
is dissatisfactory. Herein, we constructed a novel system of graphitic-C
3
N
4
composite photocatalyst (C
3
N
4
/DHPE) through π-π interactions and hydrogen bonds for efficient visible light-driven H
2
evolution. The Hantzsch ester (diethyl 1,4-dihydro-2,6-3,5-pyridine dicarboxylate, denoted as DHPE) not only speeds up the transfer rate of photogenerated charge carriers, but also retards the recombination of electron-hole pairs through extracting holes from g-C
3
N
4
. C
3
N
4
/DHPE hybrid photocatalyst exhibits efficient spatial separation of photogenerated electrons and holes and thus, more electrons can be released for hydrogen production. When 4% DHPE was introduced, the hydrogen production rate of C
3
N
4
/DHPE photocatalyst drastically increased up to 1345.0 μmol h
−1
g
−1
, which is 4.7 times higher than that of pure g-C
3
N
4
(286.0 μmol h
−1
g
−1
). Moreover, there is no significant decrease in H
2
production after a long time reaction (20 h, five test cycles), confirming that the C
3
N
4
/DHPE photocatalyst has excellent stability. Our study offers a simple, cost-effective, and powerful route to promoting efficient separation of photogenerated charge carriers and a novel strategy to design other highly efficient photocatalytic systems for solar energy conversion.
Hantzsch ester (DHPE) retards the recombination of electron-hole pairs through extracting holes from g-C
3
N
4
, thus dramatically improving visible photocatalytic hydrogen production. |
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Bibliography: | 10.1039/c8cy01922c Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental section, TEM images, cyclic voltammogram, UV-vis absorption spectrum, comparison of photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rates under different sacrificial reagents. See DOI |
ISSN: | 2044-4753 2044-4761 |
DOI: | 10.1039/c8cy01922c |