g-C3N4-SiC-Pt for Enhanced Photocatalytic H2 Production from Water under Visible Light Irradiation

Graphite carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ) and SiC have drawn increasing attention for application in visible light photocatalytic hydrogen evolution by water splitting due to their unique band structure and high physicochemical stability. Herein, a g-C 3 N 4 -SiC heterojunction with loaded noble metal is constructed. The g-C 3 N 4 -SiC-Pt composite photocatalysts are successfully prepared by the combination method of bio-reduction, sol deposition, and calcination. The layers of g-C 3 N 4 are thinned, and both SiC and Pt nanoparticles are simultaneously tightly bound to g-C 3 N 4 by calcination during the preparation of g-C 3 N 4 -SiC-Pt. The heterojunction formed at the interface of SiC and g-C 3 N 4 enhances the separation efficiency of the photogenerated electron–hole pairs. These composite photocatalysts achieve a high hydrogen evolution rate of 595.3 μmol h −1 g −1 with 1 wt% of deposited Pt, which is 3.7- and 2.07-fold higher than those of g-C 3 N 4 -bulk and g-C 3 N 4 -SiC under visible light irradiation with a quantum efficiency of 2.76% at 420 nm, respectively.