Earth-rich Ni2P/Ni(PO3)2 co-catalysts promoted electron–hole separation for g-C3N4 nanosheets visible light photocatalysts

Abstract

Abstract Ni2P/Ni(PO3)2/g-C3N4 ternary 3D heterojunction photocatalysts are fabricated through the hydrothermal and calcination method. The prepared materials are characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectra and UV–vis diffuse reflection spectra. The obtained results show that the co-catalysts Ni2P/Ni(PO3)2 nanoparticles are dispersed on the surface of g-C3N4 nanosheets uniformly. The visible-light-driven photocatalytic hydrogen production rate is up to 508.3 µmol h−1 g−1 with the assist of Pt cocatalyst, which is about 7 times and 5 times than pure g-C3N4 and Ni2P/Ni(PO3)2, respectively. It is worth noting that the photocatalytic degradation ratio of chlorophenols is also up to 95%. The obtained photocatalysts are stable even after several cycles, which is favorable for practical applications. The excellent photocatalytic performance can be ascribed to the formation of heterojunctions and the synergistic effect of earth-rich cooperative catalyst (co-catalyst) Ni2P/Ni(PO3)2 decorated the g-C3N4 promoting the efficient separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. The as-prepared novel heterojunction photocatalysts have potential applications in fields of energy and environment, and this work also opens new windows for fabricating other high-performance photocatalysts.