Novel 3-D nanoporous graphitic-C sub(3)N sub(4) nanosheets with heterostructured modification for efficient visible-light photocatalytic hydrogen production

Phosphorus-doped g-C sub(3)N sub(4) (P-C sub(3)N sub(4)) nanosheets with unique 3-D nanoporous structures are synthesized for the first time in this work; such functional porous architectures coupled with BiPO sub(4) nanorods can exhibit superior photocatalytic activity for hydrogen production. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV-vis diffusive reflectance spectroscopy have been employed to characterize the heterostructured photocatalytic materials. The as-prepared composite photocatalyst show outstanding activity for photocatalytic hydrogen production under visible light ( lambda > 420 nm). The composite photocatalyst with 3.0 wt% BiPO sub(4) shows an optimum photocatalytic activity with a H sub(2)-production rate of 1110 mu mol h super(-1) g super(-1). The enhanced photocatalytic activity for P-C sub(3)N sub(4) coupled with BiPO sub(4) comes from the high migration efficiency of photoinduced electrons on the interface of P-C sub(3)N sub(4) and BiPO sub(4).