Synthesis of Fe2O3/Pt/Au nanocomposite immobilized on g-C3N4 for localized plasmon photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Abstract

Abstract This work reports on the fabrication of Fe2O3/Pt/Au nanocomposite immobilized on g-C3N4 surface with highly enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity toward efficient and stable hydrogen production. The results showed that the designed nanosystem photocatalysts were successfully fabricated, with intimate interfacial contact between g-C3N4 and Fe2O3 and uniform distribution of Pt and Au on the surface of g-C3N4 which can significantly improve the photocatalytic activity compared to its constituents. Localized surface plasmon resonance of Au, Z-scheme heterojunction interaction of two semiconductors, Schottky barriers and active sites of Pt can effectively promote hydrogen production. The photocatalytic mechanism of the produced system is suggested. The H2-evolution rate of 4.6 μmol h−1 mg−1 was achieved and the synthesized samples exhibited good photocatalytic stability in recycling H2 evolution. This work provides a new way to design effective photocatalysts for splitting water under solar light, which can simultaneously extend light absorption range for better electron-hole generation, reduce carrier recombination and increase H+ absorption for efficient H2 production.