Rare earth oxide Y2O3 modified g-C3N4 for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production: photocatalytic performance and electron transfer channels

Abstract This work used a one-step calcination process to prepare g-C 3 N 4 composites with varying Y 2 O 3 loading. XRD, TEM, and XPS verified the structure and morphology of the composite photocatalyst, and its photoelectrochemical and hydrogen production performance were studied. According to the experimental results, it is found that the composite structure between Y 2 O 3 and g-C 3 N 4 effectively suppresses the photoelectron–hole complex and enhances the photocatalytic hydrogen production properties of g-C 3 N 4 . Under the irradiation of a 300 W xenon lamp, YCN-3 had superior photocatalytic hydrogen generation performance, achieving a rate of 1079.61 μ mol g −1 h −1 , which was 2.3 times greater than that of g-C 3 N 4 in its unmodified state. After three consecutive photocatalytic operations, satisfactory stability and reusability were obtained. Finally, the possibility of a mechanism for the photocatalytic charge transfer pathway is discussed, which provides an effective way for g-C 3 N 4 photocatalytic hydrogen production.