Coupling g-C3N4 nanobelts and Cu(OH)2 nanoparticles with TiO2 for visible-light photocatalytic H2 production

Herein, a robust graphitic carbon nitride (denoted as Lg-CN) with narrow bandgap and nanobelt structure was prepared and firstly used as solid sensitizer of TiO2 prepared by in situ hydrothermal method. Simultaneously, cocatalyst Cu(OH)2 was loaded onto Lg-CN-TiO2 surface via a facile precipitation process. The obtained three-component composite showed good stability and the H2 evolution rate of 6 wt% Lg-CN-TiO2/1.5 wt% Cu(OH)2 reached 37.8 μmol h−1 under visible light irradiation, much higher than that of pure Lg-CN or g-CN-TiO2/Cu(OH)2 (g-CN = graphitic carbon nitride prepared by urea pyrolysis). The enhanced H2-evolving performance was attributed to the better visible-light response of Lg-CN and the intimate contact between Lg-CN and TiO2. In addition, the mechanism of hydrogen production was tentatively proposed according to photoluminescense quenching results and electrochemical properties. We think that these valuable results would provide a guidance for the use of Lg-CN in other photocatalytic systems in the future.