Hybrid carbon dot/Ni3S2 architecture supported on nickel foam for effective light collection and conversion

•Use of carbon dot/Ni3S2 hybrid supported on Ni foam as a recyclable photocatalyst.•Carbon dot/Ni3S2 hybrid exhibited broad and strong light absorption and excellent photooxidation activities.•The different roles of CDs and Ni3S2 played in energy conversion process.

We offer a powerful strategy that makes use of in-situ Ni3S2 formation on porous wall of Ni foam to enhance light capture and energy conversion of carbon dots (CDs). The obtained hybrid of CDs and Ni3S2 is well characterized and shows broad and strong light absorption and excellent photooxidation activities. In this hybrid, both CDs and Ni3S2 play different roles in energy conversion process and their combined architectures determine efficiency of light harvesting. Not only could our presented product be particularly promising for oxidation and degradation of organic species, but also show more competitive advantage in separation and recovery from the reaction system than the powder as a photocatalyst.

Graphical abstractThe obtained hybrid of CDs and Ni3S2 shows broad absorption and excellent photocatalytic activities without incurring the burden of hard separation.Download high-res image (101KB)Download full-size image