The design of green and low-cost Z-scheme heterojunctions with the interfacial electric field is of prime importance to their photocatalytic hydrogenation performance and practical application. This work synthesizes Zn-Ni2P/g-C3N4 Z-scheme heterojunction with a strong interfacial electric field for upgraded photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.
Abstract:
The design of green and low-cost Z-scheme heterojunctions with the interfacial electric field (IEF) is of prime importance to their photocatalytic hydrogenation performance and practical application. In this work, we construct a novel Z-scheme heterojunction photocatalyst comprised of Zn-Ni2P/g-C3N4 nanosheets for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Experimental results and density functional theory calculations demonstrate that the construction of Z-scheme Zn-Ni2P/g-C3N4 heterostructure not only promotes the generation of IEF directing from Zn-Ni2P to g-C3N4, along with work function, accelerating the photogenerated charge separation in Zn-Ni2P/g-C3N4, but also leads to the upshift of the p-band state density in Zn-Ni2P/g-C3N4, favorable for the H* adsorption toward HER. The Zn-Ni2P/g-C3N4 photocatalyst demonstrated excellent photocatalytic HER activity, with a hydrogen production rate of up to 1077 µmol g−1 h−1 and a stability of 49 h. Our findings provide a new method to enhance the separation of photogenerated charges. This improvement boosts the photocatalytic properties of solar-driven materials and devices.
Author list:
Qian Chen, Jianfeng Huang*, Dewei Chu, Liyun Cao*, Xiaoyi Li, Yong Zhao, Yijun Liu, Junle Dong, Liangliang Feng*
How to cite:
Q. Chen, J. Huang, D. Chu, L. Cao, X. Li, Y. Zhao, Y. Liu, J. Dong, L. Feng, Exploration 2025, 20240189.
https://doi.org/10.1002/EXP.20240189