Enhanced interfacial electron transfer and boosted visible-light photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity of g-C3N4 by noble-metal-free MoSe2 nanoparticles

Abstract

Rationally designing noble-metal-free metallic cocatalysts modified graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) as heterostructured photocatalysts is an efficient strategy for enhancing photocatalytic hydrogen (H2) evolution. Herein, uniform molybdenum diselenide (MoSe2) nanoparticles were synthesized through a simple solvothermal approach, and the MoSe2 nanoparticles anchored g-C3N4 nanosheets were subsequently prepared by a solution-phase strategy. The resulting MoSe2/g-C3N4 nanocomposite displayed good performance toward visible-light photocatalytic H2 production. The optimal amount of MoSe2 nanoparticles was 7% of composite by weight, displaying the highest H2 production rate of 287.3 μmol h−1 g−1. The excellent photocatalytic performance of the MoSe2/g-C3N4 hybrids was ascribed to the introduction of MoSe2 nanoparticles, which facilitated the charge separation and dramatically promoted the photoelectron transport. The insight into the charge transfer through the interface between MoSe2 nanoparticles and g-C3N4 nanosheets was revealed by photoluminescence spectra, electrochemical and photoelectrochemical experiments. This work provides solid evidence that MoSe2 nanoparticles can be a promising cocatalyst loaded g-C3N4 for enhanced photocatalytic performance.