In-situ growing Ni 2 P on CdS@g-C 3 N 4 composites for highly efficient synergistically photocatalytic H 2 evolution and antibiotic degradation

Achieving simultaneous photocatalytic H 2 evolution and antibiotic degradation is ideal but challenging. Herein, IS-Ni 2 P/CdS/CN ternary composites was elaborately constructed by electrostatic self -assembly followed by insitu growth of Ni 2 P method. The IS-Ni 2 P/CdS/CN exhibit extremely high H 2 yield and achieve synergistic degradation of multiple antibiotic contaminants (323 mu mol g - 1 h - 1 for H 2 yield and 72 % for tetracycline hydrochloride synergistic degradation). Interestingly, for the synergistic mechanism, it is found that antibiotic molecules can serve as electron donors to promote the separation of carriers, thus remarkably improving H 2 yield. More notably, the electron -donating capacity of antibiotic molecules dictates the synergistic efficiency, that is, the stronger the electron -donating capacity of antibiotic molecules, the more favorable it is for enhancing synergistic efficiency. Besides, experimental and DFT calculation demonstrate that the exceptional photocatalytic activity of IS-Ni 2 P/CdS/CN is ascribed to the combined effect of the induced internal electric field, and the improved interfacial contact by the in -situ grown Ni 2 P cocatalyst, thus substantially accelerating carriers transport. Our work provides an idea for simultaneous photocatalytic H 2 evolution and pollutants degradation.