Structure modulation of g-C₃N₄ in TiO₂{001}/g-C₃N₄ hetero-structures for boosting photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Structure design of photocatalysts is highly desirable for taking full advantage of their abilities for H₂ evolution. Herein, the highly-efficient TiO₂{001}/g-C₃N₄ (TCN) heterostructures have been fabricated successfully via an in situ ethanol-thermal method. And the structure of g-C₃N₄ in the TCN heterostructures could be exfoliated from bulk g-C₃N₄ to nanosheets, nanocrystals and quantum dots with the increase of the synthetic temperature. Through detailed characterization, the structural evolution of g-C₃N₄ could be attributed to the enhanced temperature of the ethanol-thermal treatment with the shear effects of HF acid. As expected, the optimal TCN-2 heterostructure shows excellent photocatalytic H₂ evolution efficiency (1.78 mmol h^-1 g^-1) under visible-light irradiation. Except for the formed built-in electric field, the significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity of TCN-2 could be ascribed to the enhanced crystallinity of TiO₂{001} nanosheets and the formed g-C₃N₄ nanocrystals with large surface area, which could extend the visible light absorption, and expedite the transfer of photo-generated charge carriers further. Our work could provide guidance on designing TCN heterostructures with the desired structure for highly-efficient photocatalytic water splitting.