Facile synthesis of CeO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposites with significantly improved visible-light photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution

Abstract

Ceria dioxide supported on graphitic carbon nitride (CeO2/g-C3N4) composites were facilely synthesized to be application for photocatalytic hydrogen (H2) generation in this present work. The physical and chemical properties of CeO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposites were determined via a series of characterizations. The CeO2/g-C3N4 composites prepared by facile thermal annealing and rotation-evaporation method exhibit excellent photocatalytic H2 evolution with visible-light illumination. The best hydrogen generation rate of CeO2/g-C3N4 composite with 1.5 wt% Pt is 0.83 mmol h−1 g−1, which is almost same as that of composite with 3 wt% Pt prepared by simple physical mixing method. The significantly developed photocatalytic activity of CeO2/g-C3N4 composite is majorly ascribed to the stronger interfacial effects with the more visible-light absorbance and faster electron transfer. This work reveals that construction of the CeO2/g-C3N4 composite with high disperse and close knit by the facile thermal annealing and rotation-evaporation method could be an effective method to achieve excellent photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance.