Synergism between chemisorption and unique electron transfer pathway in S-scheme AgI/g-C3N4 heterojunction for improving the photocatalytic H2 evolution

AgI/g-C3N4 S-scheme heterojunction with a unique electron transfer pathway was developed as a catalyst for H2 evolution. We discussed the behavior of chemisorption and photoexcited charge carriers in pho-tocatalytic reduction on the S-scheme AgI/g-C3N4 heterojunction. It was demonstrated that the path of charge transfer mediated by S-scheme AgI/g-C3N4 heterojunction was favorable for the improvement of electron utilization in photocatalysis. The advantage of S-scheme heterojunction was that the holes in the valence band (VB) of g-C3N4 could recombine with the electrons in the conduction band (CB) of AgI due to the built-in electric field. Electrons on the CB of g-C3N4 and holes on the VB of AgI were pre-served for further photocatalytic reaction. Therefore, a distinctive electron transfer pathway was intro-duced in the S-scheme heterojunction. In addition, the lifetime of charge carriers was prolonged, and the reduced ability of electrons was increased as compared to reference g-C3N4. It not only decreased the energy required for electron excitation, but also reduced the energy consumption for the charge transfer. This paper provided a new strategy to improve the utilization of photogenerated electrons and chemisorption of water for photocatalytic H2O splitting.(c) 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study developed an AgI/g-C3N4 S-scheme heterojunction with a unique electron transfer pathway as a catalyst for H2 evolution. It was shown that the charge transfer mediated by the S-scheme AgI/g-C3N4 heterojunction was favorable for improving electron utilization in photocatalysis. The S-scheme heterojunction introduced a distinctive electron transfer pathway and prolonged the lifetime of charge carriers, leading to increased electron-reducing ability and improved water chemisorption for photocatalytic H2O splitting.