Silver nanoparticles embedded 2D g-C3N4 nanosheets toward excellent photocatalytic hydrogen evolution under visible light

Abstract

Abstract Photocatalytic water splitting is considered to be a feasible method to replace traditional energy. However, most of the catalysts have unsatisfactory performance. In this work, we used a hydrothermal process to grow Ag nanoparticles in situ on g-C3N4 nanosheets, and then a high performance catalyst (Ag–g–C3N4) under visible light was obtained. The Ag nanoparticles obtained by this process are amorphous and exhibit excellent catalytic activity. At the same time, the local plasmon resonance effect of Ag can effectively enhance the absorption intensity of visible light by the catalyst. The hydrogen production rate promote to 1035 μmol g−1 h−1 after loaded 0.6 wt% of Ag under the visible light, which was 313 times higher than that of pure g-C3N4 (3.3 μmol g−1 h−1). This hydrogen production rate is higher than most previously reported catalysts which loaded with Ag or Pt. The excellent activity of Ag-g-C3N4 is benefited from the Ag nanoparticles and special interaction in each other. Through various analysis and characterization methods, it is shown that the synergy between Ag and g-C3N4 can effectively promote the separation of carriers and the transfer of electrons. Our work proves that Ag-g-C3N4 is a promising catalyst to make full use of solar energy.