Synthesis of CuO micro-sphere combined with g-C3N4 using Cu2O as precursor for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

The CuO micro-sphere combined with the g-C3N4 to form the p-n heterojunction was first prepared by the simple impregnation-calcination technique. The SEM and XPS revealed the tight combination between CuO micro-sphere and g-C3N4. The UV spectra and PL spectra confirmed the obvious red shift to improve visible light absorption and effective light-induced carriers separation. The hydrogen evolution rate was improved more than 100% compared with pure g-C3N4. It is revealed that the more broad visible light absorption range and the p-n heterojuction mechanism was the key factor to facilitate the photocatalytic performance of hydrogen evolution.