Nickel complex co-catalyst confined by chitosan onto graphitic carbon nitride for efficient H₂ evolution

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Photocatalysis
• Green Chemistry

Background:

• Developing earth-abundant, stable, and active heterogeneous photocatalysts for hydrogen production is crucial for sustainable energy.
• Current photocatalysts often rely on expensive or rare materials, limiting their widespread application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create a cost-effective and robust heterogeneous photocatalyst for efficient hydrogen production from water using solar energy.
• To investigate the synergistic effects of combining a nickel complex with carbon nitride nanosheets for enhanced photocatalytic activity.

Main Methods:

• Synthesized a novel photocatalyst by covalently binding a nickel complex (NiL) derived from chitosan to carbon nitride nanosheets (CN) via electrostatic interaction.
• Characterized the photocatalyst's structure and properties, and evaluated its performance for hydrogen evolution under visible light irradiation.

Main Results:

• The optimized NiL3-CN photocatalyst achieved a high hydrogen evolution rate of 346 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ under visible light.
• The material exhibited excellent stability during the photocatalytic process.
• The incorporation of NiL enhanced solar energy utilization, facilitated electron transfer, and lowered the overpotential for water reduction.

Conclusions:

• The developed NiL-CN photocatalyst offers a promising, low-cost solution for sustainable solar-driven hydrogen production.
• This facile method of anchoring molecular catalysts onto semiconductor supports demonstrates potential for designing advanced heterogeneous photocatalysts.