Surface plasmon assisted photocatalytic hydrogen generation with Ag decorated g-C3N4 coupled SnO2 nanophotocatalyst under visible-light driven photocatalysis

Abstract

Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from water is a feasible technique to solve energy crises and reduce dependance on carbon fuels. As for this, silver nanoparticles were grown on the surface of SnO2 coupled g-C3N4 nanocomposite for the generation of hydrogen gas from water under visible light photocatalysis. The prepared samples were properly characterized to investigate their light absorption characteristics followed by charge generation and separation for water splitting. The optimized nanocomposite produced 270 μmol h−1 g−1 hydrogen which was much superior to pure g-C3N4 and SnO2. These upgraded photocatalytic activities were attached to the extended visible-light absorption due to the presence of Ag nanoparticles characterized by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and suitable conduction bands position of g-C3N4 and SnO2 for the separation of excited charges. The photoluminescence study, amount of produced hydroxyl free radicals and electrochemical investigation confirmed the long-rooted charge separation capability of the nanocomposites. We believe that this work will have more positive impacts on the synthesis of low cost SPR assisted photocatalysts for energy production and environmental purification.