Facilitated photocatalytic H2 production on Cu-coordinated mesoporous g-C3N4 nanotubes

Abstract

Photocatalytic conversion of solar energy to hydrogen (H₂) provides an efficient way for energy supply and storage. It is of great importance to improve the H₂ production efficiency by constructing photocatalysts with rapid charge transfer and separation and a low energy barrier for H₂ production. Here, we demonstrate high-efficiency photocatalytic H₂ production on Cu-coordinated mesoporous g-C₃N₄ nanotubes. The catalyst exhibits a photocatalytic H₂ production rate of 6.53 mmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ under visible-light irradiation (λ > 420 nm), which is much higher than that over bulk g-C₃N₄ (0.58 mmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹) under the same conditions. Advanced characterization and density functional theory calculations reveal that such a catalyst has stronger light absorption, facilitated carrier transfer and separation, and a reduced H₂ evolution barrier than Cu-free g-C₃N₄ nanotubes. This study provides a new insight into the design of photocatalytically active sites of catalysts for high-performance H₂ production.