Open AccessPt‐Decorated g‐C 3 N 4 /TiO 2 Nanotube Arrays with Enhanced Visible‐Light Photocatalytic Activity for H 2 Evolution
Author(s) -
Gao ZhiDa,
Qu YongFang,
Zhou Xuemei,
Wang Lei,
Song YanYan,
Schmuki Patrik
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
chemistryopen
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.644
H-Index - 29
ISSN - 2191-1363
DOI - 10.1002/open.201500219
Subject(s) - photocurrent , anatase , nanoporous , visible spectrum , materials science , photocatalysis , nanotube , anodizing , nanotechnology , photoelectrochemistry , context (archaeology) , nanoparticle , chemical vapor deposition , chemical engineering , chemical bath deposition , water splitting , electrochemistry , thin film , optoelectronics , chemistry , carbon nanotube , catalysis , electrode , paleontology , biochemistry , engineering , metallurgy , biology , aluminium
Aligned TiO 2 nanotube layers (TiNTs) grown by self‐organizing anodization of a Ti‐substrate in a fluoride‐based electrolyte were decorated with graphitic‐phase C 3 N 4 (g‐C 3 N 4 ) via a facile chemical vapor deposition approach. In comparison with classical TiO 2 nanotubes (anatase), the g‐C 3 N 4 /TiNTs show an onset of the photocurrent at 2.4 eV (vs. 3.2 eV for anatase) with a considerably high photocurrent magnitude in the visible range. After further decoration with Pt nanoparticles, we obtained a visible‐light responsive platform that showed, compared with g‐C 3 N 4 ‐free TiNTs, a strong enhancement for photoelectrochemical and bias‐free H 2 evolution (15.62 μLh −1 cm −2 ), which was almost a 98‐fold increase in the H 2 production rate of TiNTs (0.16 μLh −1 cm −2 ). In a wider context, the g‐C 3 N 4 ‐combined 3 D nanoporous/nanotubular structure thus provides a platform with significant visible‐light response in photocatalytic applications.