In-situ solid-phase fabrication of Ag/AgX (X=Cl, Br, I)/g-C3N4 composites for enhanced visible-light hydrogen evolution

In this work, a series of Ag/AgX (X = Cl, Br, I)/g-C3N4 (Ag/AgX/CN) composites were successfully fabricated by an in-situ solid phase method. The morphology and structure, photoluminescence and photoelectrochemical properties of composites were investigated in detail. The as-prepared Ag/AgX/CN composites were used as H-2 evolution photocatalysts under visible-light irradiation with a sacrificial agent. The experimental results revealed that Ag/AgI/CN-4 composite possesses highest-H-2 evolution rate (up to 59.22 mu mol g(-1) h(-1)) which are approximately 31 times higher than that of pure g-C3N4 (1.94 mu mol g(-1) h(-1)). In addition, Ag/AgCl/CN-4 and Ag/AgBr/CN-4 composites also present high photocatalytic activities yielding, 26.39 and 18.05 mu mol(H2) g(-1)h(-1), respectively. The enhanced photo catalytic activities of Ag/AgI/CN-4 composite might be attributed to the synergistic effect between Ag/AgI nanoparticles and g-C3N4 and the localized surface plasmon resonance effect of metallic Ag. Moreover, Ag/AgI/CN-4 composite showed excellent recyclability and stability after five cycling photocatalytic tests (about 25 h). Furthermore, the possible photocatalytic mechanism of Ag/AgI/CN composites is proposed. (C) 2019 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.