Construction of II-type and Z-scheme binding structure in P-doped graphitic carbon nitride loaded with ZnO and ZnTCPP boosting photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.08.033
• Publication Date: 2023-08-06T21:33:10Z
• Authors: Xuan Xu; Xiangbo Feng; Wei Wang; Kunli Song; Dandan Ma; Yixuan Zhou; Jian-Wen Shi
• Keywords: Graphitic carbon nitride; Charge carrier; Carbon nitride

A ternary heterostructure (ZnPPO) was constructed by loading ZnO and tetrakis (4-carboxyphenyl) zinc porphyrin (ZnTCPP) with P-doped g-C3N4 (PCN). In contrast to binary heterostructures (PCN-ZnO, ZnTCPP-ZnO and ZnTCPP-PCN) and single components (PCN, ZnTCPP and ZnO), ZnPPO has superior photocatalytic activity for H2 generation from water splitting. It is revealed that a binding structure of Ⅱ-type and Z-scheme has been constructed in ZnPPO, which plays a vital role in transferring photo-excited charge carriers. The significant enhancement of photocatalytic activity in ZnPPO is attributed to the effective transfer of photo-generated electrons and holes between the components of the ternary heterostructure.