Fabrication of a non-semiconductor photocatalytic system using dendrite-like plasmonic CuNi bimetal combined with a reduced graphene oxide nanosheet for near-infrared photocatalytic H2 evolution

The field of photocatalytic hydrogen evolution has almost exclusively concentrated on semiconductor photocatalysts, with few reports of non-semiconductor photocatalytic systems due to the small number of non-semiconductor catalysts and their poor photocatalytic ability. Herein, dendrite-like plasmonic CuNi bimetal was prepared by a hydrothermal method, followed by modification with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets to facilitate the separation of the electron–hole pair and improve the photocatalytic H2 evolution rate. The electron–hole pair originates from the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of Cu in CuNi bimetal. Importantly, a near-infrared photocatalytic activity was confirmed with monochromatic light irradiation at a wavelength of 800 and 900 nm in the photocatalytic system due to the broad-spectrum response of plasmonic Cu. In addition, this photocatalyst exhibited favorable stability and repeatability in five consecutive runs of accumulatively 30 h. This study provides a new and significant approach for the development of a non-semiconductor photocatalytic system, which could effectively broaden the scope of the photocatalyst field.