A facile one-step strategy to construct 0D/2D SnO2/g-C3N4 heterojunction photocatalyst for high-efficiency hydrogen production performance from water splitting

Abstract

Fabricating 0D/2D heterojunctions is considered to be an efficient mean to improve the photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4, whereas their applications are usually restricted by complex preparation process. Here, the 0D/2D SnO2/g-C3N4 heterojunction photocatalyst is prepared by a simple one-step polymerization strategy, in which SnO2 nanodots in-situ grow on the surface of g-C3N4 nanosheets. It shows the outstanding photocatalytic H2 production activity relative to g-C3N4 under the visible light, which is due to the formation of 0D/2D heterojunction significantly contributing to the separation of photogenerated charge carriers. In particular, the H2 production rate over the optimal SnO2/g–C3N4–1 sample is 1389.2 μmol h−1 g−1, which is 6.06 times higher than that of g-C3N4 (230.8 μmol h−1 g−1). Meanwhile, the AQE value of H2 production over the SnO2/g–C3N4–1 sample reaches up to a maximum of 4.5% at 420 nm. This work develops a simple approach to design and fabricate g–C3N4–based 0D/2D heterojunctions for the high-efficiency H2 production from water splitting.