A novel P-doped and NCDs loaded g-C3N4 with enhanced charges separation for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Graphite carbon nitride (g-C3N4) is a promising non-metal photocatalyst for photocatalytic hydrogen pro-duction, but its performance is still limited due to sluggish charges separation and low utilization of light. In this work, P-doped and N-doped carbon dots (NCDs) supported g-C3N4 were successfully prepared via hydrothermal and polymerization reactions. The sub-bandgap formed by P-doping enhances the utiliza-tion of visible light, and the high electron density of P sites is conducive to the trapping of holes. NCDs also improve light utilization and, more importantly, act as electron acceptors and transporters to pro-mote electron transport. The built-in electric field formed by the synergy of P-doping and NCDs-loading greatly promotes the separation of charges. The PCN/NCDs showed a significantly improved hydrogen evolution activity of 3731 mu mol h -1 g -1, which was 6.7 times that of pure carbon nitride (560 mu mol h -1 g -1). This strategy may be generalized to the design of g-C3N4-based photocatalysts, facilitating the separation of charges for enhanced catalytic activity.(c) 2023 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

Automated summary

In this study, P-doped and N-doped carbon dots (NCDs) supported g-C3N4 were prepared, which enhanced the photocatalytic activity of hydrogen production by improving light utilization and charge separation.