TiO2–g-C3N4 composite materials for photocatalytic H2 evolution under visible light irradiation

In this investigation, we report the preparation of TiO2–g-C3N4 composite materials with varying the wt.% of g-C3N4, the characterization of these materials by various techniques and photocatalytic hydrogen production under visible light irradiation in the presence of methanol. The X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) shows that the composite materials are consist of anatase TiO2 and g-C3N4. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra show that the absorbance band intensity of composite materials was stronger than that of C3N4. The UV–vis absorption spectra show that the absorption edge of the composite materials shifts to the lower energy region comparing to pure anatase and to longer wavelengths with increasing the amount of C3N4. The significant photoluminescence quenching was observed in TiO2–C3N4 composite materials, indicating the charge transfer from C3N4 to TiO2. The visible light induced H2 evolution rate was remarkably enhanced by coupling TiO2 with C3N4.