Effect of electron-transfer cascade in g-C3N4/γ-Al2O3/TiO2 heterojunction on photocatalytic hydrogen production via water splitting
Nafiseh Aghababaei, Mehrab Pourmadadi, Erfan Mohebolkhames, Tejraj M. Aminabhavi
Abstract
Photocatalytic hydrogen (H 2 ) production via water splitting using heterostructured photocatalysts is a green and sustainable approach to tackle energy shortages. The present study reports on the photocatalytic production of hydrogen by synthesizing highly efficient and cost-effective g-C 3 N 4 /γ-Al 2 O 3 /TiO 2 ternary heterojunction, which showed considerably higher photocatalytic hydrogen production of 1279.3 μmol/g.h under the visible light, which was 4 times more effective than the pure g-C 3 N 4 and 1.3 and 1.6 times more efficient than binary g-C 3 N 4 /TiO 2 and g-C 3 N 4 /γ-Al 2 O 3 , respectively. This effect is possible due to the close contact components, amorphous γ-Al 2 O 3 lattice matching, and efficient separation. The mechanism of photocatalytic hydrogen production was explained by the optical property and electron cascade transfer processes. The H 2 production reaction was reusable for five successive cycles, giving excellent results. This research introduced a low-cost and effective photocatalyst for clean energy production as per the United Nations SDGs # 7. Effective application of amorphous materials used to prepare heterojunction semiconductors is proved to be promising for high efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production.