Performance of Ni-Cu bimetallic co-catalyst g-C3N4 nanosheets for improving hydrogen evolution

The Ni-Cu bimetallic nanoparticles were successfully anchorred on the surface of g-C3N4 nanosheets by a simple heat treatment process which was applied to the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction.Insitu introduction of Ni-Cu could significantly improve the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance compared with pure g-C3N4 in the system sensitized by eosin Y under a visible irradiation condition.The hydrogen production activity of the composite reached 104.4μmol(2088.28μmol g^-1 h^-1)after using the Ni Cu double promoter strategy,which was 24.3 times higher than g-C3N4.The excellent electrical conductivity of the bimetallic Ni-Cu and the close interfacial contact between Ni Cu and g-C3N4 played an important role for increasing the charge transfer rate.They were also the reasons of more efficient charge separation,which ultimately led to a significant promotion on the photocatalytic hydrogen production reaction.Ni-Cu/g-C3N4 coupling with a close Schottky interface between metal and semiconductor which enhanced H2-evolution performance and TEOA oxidation kinetics.This work provided a new way to load Ni Cu bimetallic nanoparticles in situ onto g-C3N4 and a reference on relative semiconductor materials.