Embedding 1D WO3 Nanotubes into 2D Ultrathin Porous g-C3N4 to Improve the Stability and Efficiency of Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production

Recently, two-dimensional (2D) g-C3N4 has attracted great interest for visible-light-driven H2 production. Thinning, doping, and reticulation have been demonstrated as effective strategies to improve the efficiency of photocatalysis, but are a challenge for structural stability. Herein, a targeted method was implemented by embedding the one-dimensional (1D) WO3 nanotubes matrix into the frameworks of 2D porous g-C3N4 to form a porous P-doped g-C3N4 nanosheets/WO3 nanotubes (PCNS/WNT) by a flexible electrostatic self-assembly process. As a visible-light-sensitive photocatalyst, the as-prepared hybrids exhibited impressive performance for hydrogen generation, which was attributed to the advantages of synergetic mechanism owing to a higher specific surface area, more reaction active sites, enhanced light absorption, and a better photogenerated carrier separation. Interestingly, the insertion of 1D WO3 nanotubes not only accelerates electrons transfer along the 1D channel but also provides robust support for 2D porous g-C3N4 architecture. As a result, the maximum photocatalytic H2 evolution rate of PCNW-50 is 547 μmol g–1 h–1, which is about four times higher than that of pure PCNS, and there is no significant reduction of H2 production after five cycles. Moreover, this 2D/1D PCNS/WNT hybrid was first reported in the area of photocatalytic hydrogen evolution and provides ideas for designing novel stable architecture of photocatalyst.