In situ growth of crystalline carbon nitride on LaOCl for photocatalytic overall water splitting

Photocatalytic overall water splitting is an ideal pathway to store solar energy, and produce clean and sustainable hydrogen fuel. However, exploring photocatalytic materials with high efficiency for overall water splitting remains a challenge. Herein, crystalline carbon nitride (CCN) was in situ grown on LaOCl to improve the performance for overall water splitting. Owing to the enhanced photogenerated carrier transfer by crystalline carbon nitride, and the promoted spatial separation of carriers via the built-in electric field between CCN and LaOCl, the optimized CCN/LaOCl composite catalyzes the decomposition of H2O into H-2 and O-2, with evolution rates of 60.6 and 28.1 mu mol h(-1), respectively, prominently surpassing those of most of the reported carbon nitride-based photocatalysts. This work is anticipated to provide new perspectives for the rational design and preparation of CCN-based hybrid photocatalysts for solar water splitting.

Automated summary

This study successfully improves the performance of overall water splitting by in situ growing crystalline carbon nitride on LaOCl. The optimized CCN/LaOCl composite catalyst exhibits high evolution rates and provides new perspectives for the design and preparation of CCN-based hybrid photocatalysts for solar water splitting.