An efficient ternary photocatalyst via anchoring nickel complex and nickel oxides onto carbon nitride for visible light driven H2 evolution

Developing earth abundant, active and stable photocatalysts for water splitting is a critical but challenging procedure for efficient conversion and storage of sustainable energy. Here, a ternary photocatalyst was rationally prepared for efficient H 2 production by covalently anchoring a nickel molecule cocatalyst (NiL) onto graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets (CN) and introducing nickel oxides (NiO x ) as hole-transport materials. The lower H 2 overpotential by NiL and the faster separation of photoinduced carriers by NiO x nanoparticles account for the efficient H 2 generation of CN without the help of noble metals. Eventually, the prepared NiL/NiO x /CN catalyst exhibited excellent performance for H 2 evolution (289 μmol g −1 h −1 ) in TEOA solution under visible light irradiation , which is superior to 3NiL/CN (161 μmol g −1 h −1 ) and CN (Null). Furthermore, a possible mechanism of photocatalytic H 2 production for NiL/NiO x /CN is proposed based on a series of electrochemical measurements. The noble-metal-free photocatalyst developed in this work will pave a new way to synthesize low-cost multicomponent photocatalysts for solar conversion.