In situ construction of protonated g-C3N4/Ti3C2 MXene Schottky heterojunctions for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production

Converting sustainable solar energy into hydrogen energy over semiconductor-based photocatalytic materials provides an alternative to fossil fuel consumption. However, efficient photocatalytic splitting of water to realize carbon-free hydrogen production remains a challenge. Heterojunction photocatalysts with well-defined dimensionality and perfectly matched interfaces are promising for achieving highly efficient solar-to-hydrogen conversion. Herein, we report the fabrication of a novel type of protonated graphitic carbon nitride (PCN)/Ti(3)C(2)MXene heterojunctions with strong interfacial interactions. As expected, the two-dimensional (2D) PCN/2D Ti3C2 MXene interface heterojunction achieves a highly improved hydrogen evolution rate (2181 mu mol.g(-1)) in comparison with bulk g-C3N4 (393 mu mol.g(-1)) and protonated g-C3N4 (816 mu mol.g(-1)). The charge-regulated surfaces of PCN and the accelerated charge transport at the face-to-face 2D/2D Schottky heterojunction interface are the major contributors to the excellent hydrogen evolution performance of the composite photocatalyst. (C) 2021, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The heterojunction photocatalyst of PCN/Ti3C2 MXene exhibits a highly improved hydrogen evolution rate, thanks to the well-defined dimensionality and perfectly matched interfaces with strong interfacial interactions. The charge-regulated surfaces of PCN and the accelerated charge transport at the face-to-face 2D/2D Schottky heterojunction interface are the main reasons for the excellent hydrogen evolution performance.