Bimetallic AgNi co-catalyst modified g-C3N4 nanosheets for highly efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Abstract

In this study, AgNi/g-C₃N₄ (AgNi/CN) composite were prepared by chemical reduction method to investigate their performance in photocatalytic water separation for hydrogen production. The research demonstrates that the bimetallic AgNi system exhibits mutual synergy, significantly enhancing the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance in aqueous solutions. Among them, the AgNi/g-C₃N₄ photocatalyst can broaden the light absorption range, enable faster charge transfer and transport, and effectively inhibit the fast photogenerated electron-hole complexation. Notably, the hydrogen production rate of 5 % AgNi/CN sample was as high as 20891.14 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹. Characterization techniques showed that this composite had enhanced light harvesting ability as well as efficient photogenerated charge carrier separation. In addition, density-functional theory (DFT) simulations show that the AgNi/CN system has an optimal reaction energy barrier, while also elucidating potential charge transfer pathways in the photocatalytic process. These findings highlight the promising applications of bimetallic co-catalysts and provide new strategies for designing high-performance photocatalytic systems.