Publication

NMSL Lab

Publication

Modulating Schottky barriers and active sites of Ag-Ni bi-metallic cluster on mesoporous carbon nitride for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution
Author
V Navakoteswara Rao, Hyunguk Kwon, M Nagaveni, P Ravi, Yonghee Lee, Seong Jae Lee, Kyeounghak Kim, M Mamatha Kumari, MV Shankar, Jung Ho Yoo, Chiwon Ahn, Sang-jae Kim, Jun Mo Yang
Journal
Chemical Engineering Journal
Status
Volume 499
Page
156179
Year
2024

Abstract

The advancement of photocatalysis relies on the development of novel hetero-structured materials with unique architectures. In this study, we successfully synthesized a hetero-structured g-C3N4 (GCN) material with a distinctive surface-interface modification. To further enhance its photocatalytic performance, we optimized the Ag and Ni concentration to maximize the visible light absorption and catalytic active sites for hydrogen evolution reactions. By using systematic physicochemical characterizations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we elucidated the pivotal role of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) in facilitating the formation of an efficient charge transfer channel and promoting the effective generation and separation of photo-generated carriers. From the DFT calculations, we also demonstrated that the Ag and Ni nanoparticles provide more efficient visible light absorption and active sites than Ni nanoparticles for water splitting and hydrogen evolution and In-situ TEM exploration. Furthermore, the hetero microstructure consisting of thin g-C3N4 nano scrolls has a crucial role in shortening the migration distance of the carriers, effectively suppressing carrier recombination. Consequently, these extraordinary characteristics resulted in a superior solar light-driven photocatalytic H2 evolution rate of 2507 μmol.h-1.g−1, surpassing the rate achieved by g-C3N4 heterostructures by a remarkable 18.6-folds. Moreover, the apparent quantum efficiency of this hetero-structured material reached an exceptional value of 1.6 % under a 1.5 G air mass filter.
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