The high photocatalytic efficiency and stability of LaNiO(3)/g-C(3)N(4) heterojunction nanocomposites for photocatalytic water splitting to hydrogen

A binary direct Z-scheme LaNiO(3)/g-C(3)N(4) nanocomposite photocatalyst consisted with LaNiO(3) nanoparticles and g-C(3)N(4) nanosheets was successfully synthesized by means of mechanical mixing and solvothermal methods in order to improve the photocatalytic water splitting activity. The as-prepared materials were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron microscope (SEM), Transmission Electron microscope (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and N(2) adsorption–desorption experiments, respectively, demonstrating the formation of interfacial interaction and heterogeneous structure in LaNiO(3)/g-C(3)N(4) nanocomposites. Under UV-light irradiation, the LaNiO(3)/g-C(3)N(4) samples which without the addition of any noble metal as co-catalyst behaved enhanced photocatalytic water splitting activity compared with pure LaNiO(3) and g-C(3)N(4), owing to the Z-scheme charge carrier transfer pathway. Especially, the LaNiO(3)/70%g-C(3)N(4) nanocomposite reach an optimal yield of up to 3392.50 µmol g(−1) in 5 h and held a maximum H(2) evolution rate of 678.5 µmol h(−1) g(−1) that was 5 times higher than that of pure LaNiO(3). [Image: see text]