Promoting Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Activity of Graphitic Carbon Nitride with Hole-Transfer Agents.

Abstract

Visible light‐driven photocatalytic reduction of protons to H2 is considered a promising way of solar‐to‐chemical energy conversion. Effective transfer of the photogenerated electrons and holes to the surface of the photocatalyst by minimizing their recombination is essential for achieving a high photocatalytic activity. In general, a sacrificial electron donor is used as a hole scavenger to remove photogenerated holes from the valence band for the continuation of the photocatalytic hydrogen (H2) evolution process. Here, for the first time, the hole‐transfer dynamics from Pt‐loaded sol−gel‐prepared graphitic carbon nitride (Pt‐sg‐CN) photocatalyst were investigated using different adsorbed hole acceptors along with a sacrificial agent (ascorbic acid). A significant increment (4.84 times) in H2 production was achieved by employing phenothiazine (PTZ) as the hole acceptor with continuous H2 production for 3 days. A detailed charge‐transfer dynamic of the photocatalytic process in the presence of the hole acceptors was examined by time‐resolved photoluminescence and in situ electron paramagnetic resonance studies.