G‐C3N4‐SiC‐Pt for Enhanced Photocatalytic H2 Production from Water under Visible Light Irradiation

Abstract

Graphite carbon nitride (g‐C3N4) and SiC have drawn increasing attention for application in visible light photocatalytic hydrogen evolution by water splitting due to their unique band structure and high physicochemical stability. Herein, a g‐C3N4‐SiC heterojunction with loaded noble metal is constructed. The g‐C3N4‐SiC‐Pt composite photocatalysts are successfully prepared by the combination method of bio‐reduction, sol deposition, and calcination. The layers of g‐C3N4 are thinned, and both SiC and Pt nanoparticles are simultaneously tightly bound to g‐C3N4 by calcination during the preparation of g‐C3N4‐SiC‐Pt. The heterojunction formed at the interface of SiC and g‐C3N4 enhances the separation efficiency of the photogenerated electron–hole pairs. These composite photocatalysts achieve a high hydrogen evolution rate of 595.3 μmol h−1 g−1 with 1 wt% of deposited Pt, which is 3.7‐ and 2.07‐fold higher than those of g‐C3N4‐bulk and g‐C3N4‐SiC under visible light irradiation with a quantum efficiency of 2.76% at 420 nm, respectively.