Making co-condensed amorphous carbon/g-C3N4 composites with improved visible-light photocatalytic H2-production performance using Pt as cocatalyst

- Amorphous carbon/g-C3N4 composites were prepared by one-step thermal condensation.
- The composites display increased visible light absorption and enlarged surface area.
- The composites show enhanced photocatalytic activity toward H2 evolution.
- The high H2-production activity is due to prolonged charge carrier lifetime.

Novel composites comprising amorphous carbon and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) were fabricated via facial one-step thermal condensation of glucose and urea precursors. The as-prepared composites were systematically characterized. The photocatalytic activity towards H2 production under visible light was examined. By fine-tuning the weight ratio of precursors, the composites exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activity. The photocatalytic H2 evolution rate of optimal composite was 212.8 μmol h−1g−1, about 10-fold larger than that of pure g-C3N4. The intimate interface between the amorphous carbon and g-C3N4 plays the key role for prolonging the charge carrier lifetime and accelerating the charge transfer kinetics, which benefit the photocatalytic performance. Besides, the enhanced photocatalytic performance is also attributed to the improved visible-light absorption and enlarged surface area. Apart from H2 production, the high-performance gC3N4based photocatalysts are potentially applicable for CO2 reduction, organic synthesis and environmental remediation.

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