Metal-free efficient photocatalyst for stable visible water splitting via a two-electron pathway

The use of solar energy to produce molecular hydrogen and oxygen (H2 and O2) from overall water splitting is a promising means of renewable energy storage. In the past 40 years, various inorganic and organic systems have been developed as photocatalysts for water splitting driven by visible light. These photocatalysts, however, still suffer from low quantum efficiency and/or poor stability. We report the design and fabrication of a metal-free carbon nanodot-carbon nitride (C3N4) nanocomposite and demonstrate its impressive performance for photocatalytic solar water splitting. We measured quantum efficiencies of 16% for wavelength λ = 420 ± 20 nanometers, 6.29% for λ = 580 ± 15 nanometers, and 4.42% for λ = 600…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: 51422207, 21471106, 51132006
• PA
  Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions
• CI
  Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology
• NK
  National Key Research and Development Program of China

  Awards: 2013CB932702, 2012CB825803
• SR
  Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China

  Award: 2.01E+13