Mesoporous g-C3N4 decorated by Ni2P nanoparticles and CdS nanorods together for enhancing photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Ni2P nanoparticles and CdS nanorods were grew together on a mesoporous g-C3N4 through a facile in-situ solvothermal approach. Under visible light (l > 400 nm), the as-prepared ternary PCN-CdS-5% Ni2P composite displays a high H2 evolution rate with 2905.86 mmol g-1 h-1, which is about 14, 18 and 279 times that of PCN-CdS, PCN-Ni2P and PCN, respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic activity is mainly attributed to the improved separation efficiency of the photocarriers by the type II PCN-CdS heterojunction and the effective extraction of photogenerated electrons by Ni2P. Meanwhile, Ni2P acts as co-catalyst to provide the photocatalytic active site for hydrogen reduction. In addition, PCN-CdS-5% Ni2P composite exerts good stability in 12-h cycles . (c) 2021 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.