Pt‐Decorated g‐C(3)N(4)/TiO(2) Nanotube Arrays with Enhanced Visible‐Light Photocatalytic Activity for H(2) Evolution

Aligned TiO(2) nanotube layers (TiNTs) grown by self‐organizing anodization of a Ti‐substrate in a fluoride‐based electrolyte were decorated with graphitic‐phase C(3)N(4) (g‐C(3)N(4)) via a facile chemical vapor deposition approach. In comparison with classical TiO(2) nanotubes (anatase), the g‐C(3)N(4)/TiNTs show an onset of the photocurrent at 2.4 eV (vs. 3.2 eV for anatase) with a considerably high photocurrent magnitude in the visible range. After further decoration with Pt nanoparticles, we obtained a visible‐light responsive platform that showed, compared with g‐C(3)N(4)‐free TiNTs, a strong enhancement for photoelectrochemical and bias‐free H(2) evolution (15.62 μLh(−1) cm(−2)), which was almost a 98‐fold increase in the H(2) production rate of TiNTs (0.16 μLh(−1) cm(−2)). In a wider context, the g‐C(3)N(4)‐combined 3 D nanoporous/nanotubular structure thus provides a platform with significant visible‐light response in photocatalytic applications.