Novel 3-D nanoporous graphitic-C3N4 nanosheets with heterostructured modification for efficient visible-light photocatalytic hydrogen production

Phosphorus-doped g-C3N4 (P-C3N4) nanosheets with unique 3-D nanoporous structures are synthesized for the first time in this work; such functional porous architectures coupled with BiPO4 nanorods can exhibit superior photocatalytic activity for hydrogen production. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV-vis diffusive reflectance spectroscopy have been employed to characterize the heterostructured photocatalytic materials. The as-prepared composite photocatalyst show outstanding activity for photocatalytic hydrogen production under visible light (lambda > 420 nm). The composite photocatalyst with 3.0 wt% BiPO4 shows an optimum photocatalytic activity with a H-2-production rate of 1110 mu mol h(-1) g(-1). The enhanced photocatalytic activity for P-C3N4 coupled with BiPO4 comes from the high migration efficiency of photoinduced electrons on the interface of P-C3N4 and BiPO4.