Abstract:

Energy crisis has become a serious global issue due to the increasing depletion of fossil fuels; therefore, it is crucial to develop environmentally friendly and renewable energy resources, such as hydrogen (H₂), to replace fossil fuels. From this viewpoint, photocatalytic H₂ production is considered as one of the most promising technologies. Noble metal platinum (Pt) can be applied as an efficient cocatalyst for improving the H₂ production performance of photocatalytic systems; however, its high cost limits its further application. Thus, the development of novel, high-activity, and low-cost cocatalysts for replacing noble metal cocatalysts is of great significance for use in photocatalytic H₂ evolution techniques. Herein, we successfully synthesized a Ni₂P/graphite-like carbonitride photocatalyst (Ni₂P/CN) using a conjugated polymer (SCN)_n as precursor for enhanced photocatalytic H₂ production under visible light illumination. Various characterization techniques, including optical and photoelectronic chemical tests, were used to investigate the structural composition, morphology, and light adsorption ability of these materials. X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results showed that Ni₂P/CN nanocomposites with good crystal structure were obtained. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy results revealed that the Ni₂P/CN samples had a typical two-dimensional layered structure, and the Ni₂P nanoparticles were uniformly loaded on the surface of the CN to form a non-noble metal promoter. UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra results demonstrated that the loading of Ni₂P nanoparticles effectively enhances the adsorption capacity of CN to visible light. Photoluminescence spectroscopy and photocurrent (PL) results suggested that Ni₂P loading to CN is beneficial for promoting the migration and separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers. Photocatalytic H₂ production was conducted under visible light irradiation with triethanolamine as a sacrificial agent. The results suggest that the Ni₂P/CN composite photocatalysts exhibit excellent photocatalytic reduction performance. In particular, the H₂ evolution rate of the optimal Ni₂P/CN nanocomposite is 623.77 μmol·h^-1·g^-1, which is higher than that of CN modified by noble metal Pt, i.e., 524.63 μmol·h^-1·g^-1. In conclusion, Ni₂P nanoparticles are homogeneously attached to the surface of CN, and a strong interfacial effect exists between them, thereby forming an electron transfer tunnel that greatly inhibits the recombination of photoinduced carriers and promotes the migration of electrons from CN to Ni₂P. In addition, a possible photocatalytic mechanism is proposed based on the experiments and characterizations. This work has profound significance for developing non-noble metal cocatalysts for the substitution of noble metal cocatalysts for high-efficiency photocatalytic H₂ evolution.

Key words: Cocatalyst, Ni₂P, Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution, Interfacial effect, Visible light