In situ growing of CoO nanoparticles on g-C(3)N(4) composites with highly improved photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution

CoO/g-C(3)N(4) hybrid catalyst is facilely prepared for application to photocatalytic H(2) evolution from water splitting by the vacuum rotation–evaporation and in situ thermal method. The physical and chemical properties of CoO/g-C(3)N(4) are determined by a series of characterization methods. The g-C(3)N(4) with 0.6 wt% Co loading exhibits superior photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity with an H(2) evolution amount of 23.25 mmol g(−1) after 5 h. The obtained 0.6 wt% CoO/g-C(3)N(4) can split water to generate 0.39 mmol g(−1) H(2) without sacrificial agent and noble metal, while the pure g-C(3)N(4) is inactive under the same reaction conditions. The remarkable enhancement of photocatalytic H(2) evolution activity of CoO/g-C(3)N(4) composites is mainly ascribed to the effective separation of electron–hole pairs and charge transfer. The work creates new opportunities for the design of low-cost g-C(3)N(4)-based photocatalysts with high photocatalytic H(2) evolution activity from overall water splitting.