Pt nanoclusters as co-catalysts for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen production is an ideal strategy to relieve the energy crisis. In this work, Pt nanoclusters are employed as a co-catalyst to modify g-C3N4 for optimizing the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance. Compared with the pristine g-C3N4, the Pt nanoclusterss/g-C3N4 nanocomposites exhibit dramatic enhancement toward H2 production, where the H2 evolution rate of CN-Pt-C2 is nearly 425.1 times higher than pristine g-C3N4. The phase structure, morphology, optical properties, and surface chemical states of the fabricated samples are fully investigated. Based on the systematical characterizations, the reason for the enhanced H2 generation performance is disclosed. It is expected this work can provide a valuable reference for the fabrication of a co-catalyst-based photocatalytic system. TEM images of Pt nanoclusters loaded on g-C3N4 with different catalyst component ratios for photocatalytic hydrogen precipitation activity. [Display omitted] •Pt nanoclusters/g-C3N4 nanosheets nanocomposites are successfully constructed.•The fabricated CN-Pt-C2 exhibits superior H2 evolution performance with rate of 22.53 mmol g−1 h−1.•The separation and transfer of charge carriers are effectively enhanced.