Ag-Pt bimetallic composite supported on defective C3NX nanosheets for plasmon hot electron-mediated photocatalytic H2 evolution

Combining the strong localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of metallic Ag and the chemically reactive Pt co-catalyst, the Ag-Pt bimetallic composite was prepared and then coated on the surface of the exfoliated defective graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets (C3N. NS) for plasmon hot electron-mediated photocatalytic H2 evolution. Under the visible light irradiation, the sample of (1:2) Ag-Pt/C3N.NS exhibits the highest activity (1.25 mmol g-1 h-1), which is 35.7 and 1.7 times higher than that of Ag/C3NX NS and Pt/C3NX NS, respectively. Moreover, the apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) of (1:2) Ag-Pt/C3NX NS reaches 3.3% at 420 nm. The boosted photocatalytic capacity may be ascribed to the utilization of the advantages of the LSPR effect of Ag particles and the Schottky barrier between Pt and C3NX NS, resulting in more electrons participate in the reduction reaction to boost the photocatalytic H2 evolution performance. (c) 2023 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

By combining the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of metallic Ag and the chemically reactive Pt co-catalyst, a Ag-Pt bimetallic composite was coated on exfoliated defective graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets (C3N.NS) for plasmon hot electron-mediated photocatalytic H2 evolution. The (1:2) Ag-Pt/C3N.NS sample showed the highest activity (1.25 mmol g-1 h-1) under visible light irradiation, which was 35.7 and 1.7 times higher than that of Ag/C3NX NS and Pt/C3NX NS, respectively. The apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) of (1:2) Ag-Pt/C3NX NS reached 3.3% at 420 nm. The boosted photocatalytic capacity was attributed to the advantages of the LSPR effect of Ag particles and the Schottky barrier between Pt and C3NX NS, resulting in more electrons participating in the reduction reaction to enhance the photocatalytic H2 evolution performance.