2D Porous N-Deficient g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> Nanosheet Decorated with CdS Nanoparticles for Enhanced Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalysis
Hui Liu, Dang‐guo Cheng, Fengqiu Chen, Xiaoli Zhan
Abstract
Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), as a promising visible-light-driven photocatalyst, has attracted extensive attention. However, its photocatalytic performance is limited by its weak light absorption and fast recombination of charge carriers. Herein, a two-dimensional (2D) porous N-deficient g-C3N4 nanosheet (CNNS) was fabricated through molten salt-assisted thermal polycondensation. The remarkable porous nanosheet structure together with the N-deficiency of CNNS played multiple roles, causing a higher specific surface area, better hydrophilicity, and narrowed band gap, thus enabling extended visible light absorption and improved photogenerated charge separation efficiency. As a consequence, the noble-metal-free photocatalyst formed using CNNS and CdS nanoparticles exhibited a significantly enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalytic H2 production rate of 326 μmol h–1 (CdS/CNNS), which is about 8.8 times higher than that of a bulk-g-C3N4-based CdS/BCN photocatalyst (37 μmol h–1). Moreover, with a relatively low Pt content (1 wt %) as a cocatalyst, the H2 evolution rate further increased up to 2323 μmol h–1 (Pt-CdS/CNNS). This work is expected to be helpful in fabricating efficient g-C3N4 photocatalysts.