title: Boosting Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution with an Integrated Nickel Phosphide-Carbon Nitride System.
abstract: Solar light harvesting by photocatalytic H2evolution from water could solve the problem of greenhouse gas emission from fossil fuels with alternative clean energy. However, the development of more efficient and robust catalytic systems remains a great challenge for the technological use on a large scale. Here we report the synthesis of a sol-gel prepared mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride (sg-CN) combined with nickel phosphide (Ni2P) which acts as a superior co-catalyst for efficient photocatalytic H2evolution by visible light. This integrated system shows a much higher catalytic activity than the physical mixture of Ni2P and sg-CN or metallic nickel on sg-CN under similar conditions. Time-resolved photoluminescence and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopic studies revealed that the enhanced carrier transfer at the Ni2P-sg-CN heterojunction is the prime source for improved activity.
authors.affiliation: Metalorganic Chemistry and Inorganic Materials, Department of Chemistry, Technische Universität Berlin, Strasse des 17 Juni 135, Sekr. C2, 10623, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Arindam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Indra
authors.affiliation: Functional Materials, Department of Chemistry, Technische Universität Berlin, Hardenbergstraße 40, 10623, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Amitava
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Acharjya
authors.affiliation: Metalorganic Chemistry and Inorganic Materials, Department of Chemistry, Technische Universität Berlin, Strasse des 17 Juni 135, Sekr. C2, 10623, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Prashanth W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Menezes
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics, University of Rostock, Universitätsplatz 3, 18055, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Merschjann
authors.affiliation: Leibniz Institute for Catalysis at the University of Rostock, Albert Einstein-Straße 29A, 18059, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hollmann
authors.affiliation: Metalorganic Chemistry and Inorganic Materials, Department of Chemistry, Technische Universität Berlin, Strasse des 17 Juni 135, Sekr. C2, 10623, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schwarze
authors.affiliation: Metalorganic Chemistry and Inorganic Materials, Department of Chemistry, Technische Universität Berlin, Strasse des 17 Juni 135, Sekr. C2, 10623, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Mesut
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aktas
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics, University of Rostock, Universitätsplatz 3, 18055, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Aleksej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Friedrich
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics, University of Rostock, Universitätsplatz 3, 18055, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lochbrunner
authors.affiliation: Functional Materials, Department of Chemistry, Technische Universität Berlin, Hardenbergstraße 40, 10623, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Arne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: Metalorganic Chemistry and Inorganic Materials, Department of Chemistry, Technische Universität Berlin, Strasse des 17 Juni 135, Sekr. C2, 10623, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9873-4103
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Driess
keywords: carbon nitride; chemical energy storage; photocatalyst; semiconductor; water splitting