Heterostructured d‐Ti₃C₂/TiO_2/g‐C₃N₄ Nanocomposites with Enhanced Visible‐Light Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production Activity

Abstract

The construction of a 2D-2D heterostructured composite is an efficient method to improve the photocatalytic hydrogen generation capability under visible light. In this work, simple heat treatment of a mixture of g-C₃ N₄ and delaminated Ti₃ C₂ was used to prepare a series of d-Ti₃ C₂ /TiO₂ /g-C₃ N₄ nanocomposites. The d-Ti₃ C₂ not only acted as the support layer and resource to glue the anatase TiO₂ particles and g-C₃ N₄ layers together but also served as the fast electron transfer channel to improve the photogenerated charge carriers' separation efficiency. By tuning the g-C₃ N₄ /d-Ti₃ C₂ mass ratio, heating temperature and soaking time, the d-Ti₃ C₂ /TiO₂ /g-C₃ N₄ nanocomposite 4-1-350-1 achieved an excellent H₂ evolution rate of 1.62 mmol h^-1 g^-1 driven by a 300 W Xe lamp with a 420 nm cutoff filter. The heterostructured composite photocatalyst was stable even after 3 cycles, representing excellent potential for the practical application in solar energy conversion.