Enhanced Photocatalytic H2-Production Activity of Graphitic Carbon Nitride Modified Using a MnOx Cocatalyst

Herein, we have designed and synthesized a series of MnO x /g-C 3 N 4 composite photocatalysts via a one-step heat treatment method using a mixture of melamine and manganese acetate precursors. The as-prepared MnO x /g-C 3 N 4 composite photocatalysts show high photocatalytic H 2 production activity, and an optimal loading of 1.8[Formula: see text]wt.% MnO x can enhance the H 2 production by approximately 2.7 times than that with pure g-C 3 N 4 . The high photocatalytic H 2 -production activity can be attributed to the hole trapping and absorbing ability of the MnO x cocatalyst, which can significantly inhibit the recombination rate of the photogenerated electrons and holes. This work not only shows a simple way to enhance the photocatalytic H 2 -production activity of g-C 3 N 4 but also demonstrates that MnO x can be used as an efficient and low-cost cocatalyst for the photocatalytic production of H 2 .