Strategy of Graphdiyne (g-CnH2n-2 ) Preparation Coupling with the Flower-Like NiAl-LDH Heterjunctions for Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution**

Graphdiyne (g-CnH2n-2), a novel two-dimension carbon allotrope material composed of a sp- and sp(2)-hybrid carbon network, has been widely explored since it was synthesized for the first time by Li's group in 2010. A series distinct and excellent properties bestow graphdiyne excellent performance in many fields. Here, an innovative progress for preparing graphdiyne by using Cu+ contained material as catalyst is reported and the composite CuI-GD is coupled with flower-like NiAl-LDH to produce H-2 from photocatalytic water splitting. The results of FTIR and Raman spectroscopy together reveal that graphdiyne nanosheets are synthesized successfully by employing a cross-coupling method. Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance shows that the hydrogen production activity of CuI-GD/NiAl-LDH has a 15- and 216-fold enhancement compared with CuI-GD and NiAl-LDH, respectively. A series of characterizations are carried out to expound the underlying reasons in the enhancement of the photocatalytic hydrogen production performance of CuI-GD/NiAl-LDH. Meanwhile, a possible mechanism for the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution process was proposed to understand the interaction among these materials.

Automated summary

This study reports an innovative progress in preparing graphdiyne using Cu+ catalyst and coupling it with NiAl-LDH for photocatalytic hydrogen production, resulting in significantly enhanced activity. The successful synthesis of graphdiyne nanosheets by a cross-coupling method is confirmed, leading to improved photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance.