Enhanced photocatalytic H2 evolution by deposition of metal nanoparticles into mesoporous structure of g-C3N4

Abstract Deposition of metal nanoparticles into pore could be regarded as promising strategy for promoting photocatalytic performance because it could enrich active species in limited space. Here, we deposited typical metal cocatalysts (Pt, Ag, Ni) within the pore of mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride (MPCN) via multiple vacuum-induced method. Through a series of characterization analysis of the obtained M (M = Pt, Ag, Ni)/MPCN composites, it could be confirmed that the metal nanoparticles successfully entered into the pore of MPCN. Further exploring the photocatalytic activity, the results indicate that the electrons enrichment-effect composites exhibits higher hydrogen production than physical blending composites, which is attributed to the metal nanoparticles grown and dispersed evenly within the confined mesoporous space, promoting effectively enrichment of photogenerated electron and improving the photocatalytic performance. Thereby, to investigate the metal nanoparticles deposited within the confined pore of MPCN for improving the photocatalytic performance is necessary.