Au surface plasmon resonance promoted charge transfer in Z-scheme system enables exceptional photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Highly efficient photocatalytic water reduction to evolve hydrogen can be achieved by the construction of Z-scheme systems that mimics natural photosynthesis. However, coupling appropriate semiconductors with suitable water reduction potential still remains challenging. Herein, we report a novel Z-scheme system, based on the Au decorated 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-trimethylammoniophenyl) porphyrin tetra(p-toluene sulfonate) functionalized iron-doped carbon nitride . We prepared carbon nitride by varying the amount of iron dopant and then functionalized with porphyrin to obtain heterostructure photocatalyst. Owing to the strong interfacial contact and proper band alignment, a Z-scheme system is fabricated. Finally, we deposited Au nanoparticles over the surface of the as-fabricated Z-scheme system to promote the surface redox properties via efficient charge carrier’s separation and transfer. The 3Au-3 P/30Fe-CN photocatalyst achieved excellent H 2 evolution activity by producing 3172.20 µmol h −1 g −1 under UV–visible irradiation. The calculated quantum efficiencies for 3Au-3 P/30Fe-CN photocatalyst at 365 and 420 nm irradiation wavelengths are 7.2% and 3.26%, respectively. The experimentally observed efficiency of our photocatalyst is supported by the density functional theory simulations in terms of the lowest work function and strong electrostatic interaction among the constituents of Z-scheme system.