W18O49 nanowires grown on g-C3N4 sheets with enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity under visible light

•1D W18O49 nanowires grown on the 2D g-C3N4 sheets via a solvothermal process.•The composite photocatalyst shows much stronger absorption in the visible range.•The heterostructure has lower recombination rate of photogenerated charge carriers.•W18O49/g-C3N4 shows improved visible-light photocatalytic activity in H2 generation.

A hybrid nanomaterial comprising of one-dimensional W18O49 nanowires grown on two-dimensional g-C3N4 sheets was prepared by a facile solvothermal process. Photocatalytic activity of these materials for H2 generation under visible light was evaluated. The optimum efficiency of W18O49/g-C3N4 composite photocatalyst at a mass content of 30% was up to 4.5 times as high as that of the pure g-C3N4. The significantly enhanced performance of W18O49/g-C3N4 composites was mainly attributed to the synergistic effect between the interface of W18O49 nanowires and g-C3N4 sheets, involving stronger light absorption in the visible range, faster transfer and more efficient separation of the photo-generated electron-hole pairs. In short, the W18O49/g-C3N4 hybrid nanomaterial was demonstrated to be an effective photocatalyst for H2 production.

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