In situ bridging nanotwinned all-solid-state Z-scheme g-C3N4/CdCO3/CdS heterojunction photocatalyst by metal oxide for H2 evolution

Jing Wang; Yulei Fan; Runhui Pan; Qi Hao; Jilei Ye; Yuping Wu; Teunis van Ree

doi:10.1039/d2nr01809h

In situ bridging nanotwinned all-solid-state Z-scheme g-C₃N₄/CdCO₃/CdS heterojunction photocatalyst by metal oxide for H₂ evolution

Nanoscale. 2022 May 19;14(19):7408-7417. doi: 10.1039/d2nr01809h.

Authors

Jing Wang¹, Yulei Fan¹, Runhui Pan¹, Qi Hao¹, Jilei Ye¹, Yuping Wu^{1

2}, Teunis van Ree³

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical Engineering and School of Energy Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 211816, China. yejilei@njtech.edu.cn.
² School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China.
³ Department of Chemistry, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, 0950, South Africa.

PMID: 35543121
DOI: 10.1039/d2nr01809h

Abstract

Nanotwin and all-solid-state (ASS) Z-scheme heterojunction engineering are two widely used strategies for improving photocatalytic activity in H₂ production. However, both strategies fail to produce a satisfactory effect when used alone due to their own limitations. Hence, combining nanotwin and ASS Z-scheme heterojunction engineering is expected to improve photocatalytic activity effectively. Herein, we report a nanotwinned ASS Z-scheme g-C₃N₄/CdCO₃/CdS (CN/CC/CS) photocatalyst synthesized for the first time by in situ bridging of (CN) and (CS) with a (CC) conductor. The growth and ripening of CN/CC/CS are limited by thiourea (Tu) and CN. CN/CC/CS can improve charge carrier separation and transfer kinetics due to the synergetic advantages of its nanotwin structure, ASS Z-scheme junction, N-Cd chemically bonded interfaces, in situ intimate contact, and hierarchical architecture. The visible-light-driven H₂ production rate of CN/CC/CS is 345% of that of CN/CS. This work proposes a new method for rationally designing novel materials with improved photocatalytic activity by combining heterojunction and defect engineering.