Engineering of bimetallic Au–Pd alloyed particles on nitrogen defects riched g-C3N4 for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production

Abstract

The application of metal catalysis has gained prominence as a study area in recent years. In this work, we use adsorptive reduction and calcination to create Au–Pd alloy catalysts on COCN-2 with varying metal loadings. The plasma resonance effect of the alloys increases the photoresponse of the catalysts, and the engineering of nitrogen defects strengthens the strong bonds between Au–Pd alloy particles and carbon nitride graphite, optimizing the electronic structure, encouraging electron-directed migration, and increasing the efficiency of the reduction reaction. As a result, the efficiency of hydrogen generation by the Au–Pd0.6/COCN-2 catalyst is 5.089 mmol g−1 h−1, which is 2367 times higher than that of the g-C3N4 catalyst. Our findings highlight the crucial part that flaws play in strengthening the strong bonds that exist between the metal and the support, which enhances photocatalytic hydrogen generation. This work offers insightful information about creating effective photocatalysts.