Abstract
Plasmonic Au/TiO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposites have been successfully prepared by simple hydrothermal method. It is demonstrated that the as-synthesized nanocomposites show significant co-catalyst-free photocatalytic activities for H2 evolution under visible-light. The amount-optimized 1Au/4TiO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposite evolved 250-µmol.g-1h−1 H2 at λ > 400 light illumination. The improved photocatalytic activities for H2 evolution is attributed to the greatly-enhanced photoexcited charge separation by electron transfer from Au surface plasmon (~520 nm) and CN (470 nm > λ > 400) to TiO2. Based on the surface photovoltage spectra, photoelectrochemical I-V curves, hydroxyl radical amounts related spectra, and photocurrent action spectra, it is suggested that the fabricated Au/TiO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposite provide a proper energy platform for the photocatalytic H2 production. Moreover, TiO2 is much superior as compare to other wide-band gap metal oxides as energy platforms, like SnO2 and ZrO2. This work would provide a feasible strategy to synthesize an efficient plasmonic-assisted CN-based nanophotocatalyst for solar fuel production.
Published Version
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