A surface modification resultant thermally oxidized porous g-C3N4 with enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production

Thermally oxidized porous g-C3N4 was obtained by a facile oxidation approach and 1430.1 mu mol g(-1) h(-1) average photocatalytic hydrogen evolution is achieved in 8 h under visible-light irradiation, which was 4.3 times as high as that of the pristine sample (334.3 mu mol g(-1) h(-1)). It is found that this modified g-C3N4 presented both porous structure and intrinsic electronic/band structure modulation, resulting in larger specific surface area with more surface reaction sites, extended light absorption range for more effective visible-light utilization, up-shifted conduction band for stronger reducibility and more effective separation of photogenerated charge carriers, which are beneficial for improving photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.