The in situ photodeposition fabrication of a NixCoy/g-C3N4 photocatalyst for efficient catalytic hydrogen generation

In this work, we have prepared noble-metal-free NiCo/g-C3N4 photocatalysts via an in situ photoreduction method. The Ni23Co1/g-C3N4 photocatalyst showed excellent photocatalytic performance under visible light irradiation with a high H2 generation rate of up to 554 μmol g−1 h−1, 146 and 2.6 times higher than pure g-C3N4 (3.8 μmol g−1 h−1) and 0.5 wt% Pt/CN (216 μmol g−1 h−1), respectively. PL spectra, UV-vis spectra, and photoelectrochemical measurements show that the NiCo bimetal can promote the charge separation of g-C3N4, enhance the absorption capacity for visible light, and improve the hydrogen evolution activity. Therefore, our work provides a feasible solution for the rational construction of g-C3N4-based photocatalysts via using a simple in situ photoreduction technique.