A mechanochemically prepared graphdiyne (CnH2n-2) based Cu3P@GDY p-n heterojunction for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

As an allotrope of carbon, graphdiyne (CnH2n-2, GDY) is a two-dimensional carbon net structure composed of sp and sp(2) hybrids. GDY has received a lot of attention because of its excellent electrical conductivity, adjustable electronic structure and special electron transfer enhancement performance. It has great potential in the field of hydrogen evolution by photocatalytic water splitting due to its special properties. Here, GDY is successfully prepared by means of mechanochemical coupling of the precursor C6Br6 with CaC2 through a ball-milling approach. Through simple physical mixing, the p-type Cu3P semiconductor and n-type GDY semiconductor are tightly coupled to prepare a Cu3P@GDY composite photocatalyst with a p-n heterojunction structure. The built-in electric field at the p-n interface provides a fast electron transport channel, which greatly promotes charge transfer and enables more efficient separation and a lower recombination rate of photogenerated carriers in the composites. Therefore, the composite photocatalyst Cu3P@GDY exhibits the most significant photocatalytic hydrogen evolution characteristics compared to the single component.

Automated summary

Graphdiyne (GDY) is a two-dimensional carbon material with excellent electrical conductivity, adjustable electronic structure, and special electron transfer enhancement performance. In this study, a Cu3P@GDY composite photocatalyst was prepared by coupling p-type Cu3P semiconductor and n-type GDY semiconductor to form a p-n heterojunction structure. The built-in electric field at the p-n interface facilitates fast electron transport, promoting efficient charge transfer and reducing recombination rate of photogenerated carriers.