1. Nickel nanoparticles coated with graphene layers as efficient co-catalyst for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.
- Author
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Fang, Li Jun, Wang, Xue Lu, Li, Yu Hang, Liu, Peng Fei, Wang, Yu Lei, Zeng, Hui Dan, and Yang, Hua Gui
- Subjects
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NICKEL , *METAL nanoparticles , *GRAPHENE , *PHOTOCATALYSIS , *HYDROGEN evolution reactions , *PYROLYSIS , *GRAPHITIZATION - Abstract
Metallic nickel nanoparticles well dispersed in graphitized carbon matrix (Ni@C) by pyrolysis of metal-organic frameworks and leaching treatment of hydrochloric acid could greatly enhance the photocatalytic activity of g-C 3 N 4 under visible light irradiation. For 2.0 wt% Ni@C/g-C 3 N 4 , the average hydrogen evolution rate is 2.15 mmol h −1 g −1 , which is around 88 times higher than that of pure g-C 3 N 4 , and even better than that of platinum-loaded g-C 3 N 4 . The remarkably improved photocatalytic activities through loading Ni@C can be attributed to the cooperative work of Ni nanoparticles and graphene layers, which facilitate the separation of photo-generated carriers and suppress the recombination of the electron-hole pairs. In addition, the hollow onion-like structure can restrain the formation of Ni-hydrogen bonds which modulates desorption of hydrogen. Our studies may open up a promising strategy to design economical noble-metal-free co-catalysts for efficient solar energy conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2017
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