In-situ formation of nanosized 1T-phase MoS2 in B-doped carbon nitride for high efficient visible-light-driven H2 production

[Display omitted] •1T-phase MoS2 nanoparticles were successfully in-situ grown on B-doped g-C3N4 nanosheets.•1T-MoS2/CNB2 shows excellent hydrogen production activity (5334 μmol g−1 h−1, λ > 420 nm).•The corresponding mechanism is proposed based on DFT calculations and TA studies. The high photogenerated carrier recombination rate and the low visible light utilization limit the development of graphitic carbon nitride (CN) in industrial photocatalytic H2 generation. Herein, 1T-phase MoS2 nanoparticles with high conductivity and more active sites are in-situ grown on B-doped carbon nitride (CNB) nanosheets through a one-step hydrothermal method. The doping of boron element effectively improves the harvesting visible light ability by tuning the energy gap, while the introduction of 1T-phase MoS2 successfully increases the carrier transfer rate by suppressing charge trapping. An optimized H2 production activity of 5334 μmol h−1 g−1 with the apparent quantum efficiency of 10.2% is achieved by 1T-MoS2/CNB sample, which is 167 times higher than that of pure CN. The mechanism is systematically illustrated by the combination of DFT calculations and transient absorption measurements. This work provides a new way for the construction of transition metal-derived co-catalysts in photocatalytic hydrogen energy storage.