Harnessing the Power of Light: The Synergistic Effects of Crystalline Carbon Nitride and Ti3C2Tx MXene in Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production

Abstract

Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution is an environmentally friendly means of energy generation. Although g-C₃N₄ possesses fascinating features, its inherent shortcomings limit its photocatalytic applications. Therefore, modifying the intrinsic properties of g-C₃N₄ and introducing cocatalysts are essential to ameliorate the photocatalytic efficiency. To achieve this, metal-like Ti₃C₂T_x is integrated with crystalline g-C₃N₄ via a combined salt-assisted and freeze-drying approach to form crystalline g-C₃N₄/Ti₃C₂T_x (CCN/TCT) hybrids with different Ti₃C₂T_x loading amounts (0, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 1, 5, 10 wt.%). Benefiting from the crystallization of CN, as evidenced by the XRD graph, and the marvelous conductivity of Ti₃C₂T_x supported by EIS plots, CCN/TCT/Pt loaded with 0.5 wt.% Ti₃C₂T_x displays an elevated H2 (2) should be subscripted evolution rate of 2651.93 µmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ and a high apparent quantum efficiency of 7.26% (420 nm), outperforming CN/Pt, CCN/Pt, and other CCN/TCT/Pt hybrids. The enhanced performance is attributed to the synergistic effect of the highly crystalline structure of CCN that enables fleet charge transport and the efficient dual cocatalysts, Ti₃C₂T_x and Pt, that foster charge separation and provide plentiful active sites. This work demonstrates the potential of CCN/TCT as a promising material for hydrogen production, suggesting a significant advancement in the design of CCN heterostructures for effective photocatalytic systems.