Mixed-valence molybdenum ion incorporated graphitic carbon nitride with high photocatalytic H2 evolution activity

The graphitic carbon nitride (CN) incorporated with mixed-valence molybdenum ion has been prepared via in-situ copolymerization to improve the photocatalytic H2 evolution performance. The introduced Mo species existed in mixed valence of Mo4+ and Mo2+ state and its content could be tuned by simply adjusting amount of added MoCl5 in the preparation procedure. The incorporated mixed-valence Mo ions contributed to narrowed band gap, increased electron density and elevated electron motion kinetics, resulting in extended visible light response, promoted separation and transportation of photoexcited charge carriers. The obtained CN-Mo photocatalyst with an optimal content of Mo ions (0.41 wt%) exhibited a robust H2 production activity up to 1.44 mmol h-1 g-1, 18 times higher than that of pristine counterpart.& COPY; 2023 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Graphitic carbon nitride (CN) incorporated with mixed-valence molybdenum ion was prepared via in-situ copolymerization for enhanced photocatalytic H2 evolution. The introduced mixed-valence Mo species, with content tunable by adjusting MoCl5, contributed to narrowed band gap, increased electron density, and elevated electron motion kinetics, resulting in extended visible light response and improved charge separation and transport. The optimized CN-Mo photocatalyst with 0.41 wt% Mo ions exhibited a robust H2 production activity of 1.44 mmol h-1 g-1, 18 times higher than the pristine counterpart.