Z-scheme LaCoO(3)/C(3)N(5) for efficient full-spectrum light-simulated solar photocatalytic hydrogen generation

The development of photocatalysts with high activity and low cost is still a major challenge. Since its synthesis in 2019, C(3)N(5) has become an emerging photocatalytic material and has been widely studied. In this work, we report on the preparation of LaCoO(3)/C(3)N(5) nanosheets and the use of LaCoO(3) instead of precious metals to improve photocatalytic hydrogen production activity. First, LaCoO(3) was successfully prepared by the sol–gel method and then a series of high-efficiency Z-type LaCoO(3)/C(3)N(5) heterojunction photocatalysts were synthesized by the solvothermal method. Various characterization techniques (XRD, FT-IR, SEM, TEM, EDS, XPS, UV-Vis DRS, BET, ESR) confirmed the formation between LaCoO(3) nanoparticles and C(3)N(5) nanosheet heterostructures and interface interactions. In the photocatalytic water split test, 50 wt% LaCoO(3)/C(3)N(5) showed the highest photocatalytic activity of 956.11 μmol h(−1) g(−1), which was 3.21 and 1.59 times that of LaCoO(3) and C(3)N(5), respectively. This work not only designs an inexpensive and efficient LaCoO(3)/C(3)N(5) photocatalytic system for water splitting or other photocatalytic applications, but also provides ideas for constructing new material photocatalytic systems.