TiO2/g-C3N4 nanofibers prepared by electrospinning in one step.
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The hierarchical meso/macro-porous structure can be easily obtained by a simple method.
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Hierarchical meso/macro-porous can balance the light-harvesting ability and specific surface area.
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Hierarchical meso/macro-porous create effective transport channel and facilitate molecules spread.
Abstract
Constructing a hierarchical structure with tunable pore size is a practical method to improve the capacity of photocatalytic hydrogen production of catalysts. In this work, titanium dioxide/graphitic carbon nitride (TiO2/g-C3N4) nanofibers with hierarchical meso/macro-porous structure are fabricated by combining a one-step electrospinning method and calcination process, in which the hierarchical meso/macro-porous structure is developed by introducing polyvinylpyrrolidone and liquid paraffin into the electrospinning solution. Comprehensive characterizations reveal that the hierarchical meso/macro-porous TiO2/g-C3N4 nanofibers have improved ultraviolet-visible light absorption, the separation efficiency of carriers, and photocatalytic performance. The photocatalytic H2 evolution is up to 1202 μmol g−1 in 7 h, which is better than those of corresponding TiO2/g-C3N4 photocatalysts previously reported. This work provides a new strategy to build a hierarchical meso/macro-porous nanofiber and an ideal solution to improve the hydrogen production of TiO2/g-C3N4.
