Efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution mediated by defect-rich 1T-PtS2 atomic layer nanosheet modified mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride

Abstract

The PtS₂ material is mainly considered an optoelectronic and thermoelectric material which has not been applied in the photocatalytic field. Herein, we deposited ultrathin PtS₂ nanosheets onto mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride (MCN) to construct ultrathin PtS₂/MCN composites toward the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Defect engineering was introduced into the PtS₂ atomic layers by a simple method of liquid phase exfoliation (LPE) using bath ultrasonication. The defect-rich 1T-PtS₂ atomic layer nanosheets were uniformly dispersed on the surface of MCN, and intimate contact heterostructures were constructed. The photocatalytic HER performances of PtS₂ co-catalyst nanosheets with different thicknesses were also investigated. The MCN modified with 1 wt% defect-rich 1T-PtS₂ atomic layer nanosheets exhibited the highest photocatalytic HER activity. This is attributed to the formation of close heterostructures between PtS₂ and MCN that can promote the transfer and separation of photogenerated charge carriers. This work provides new opportunities for the rational design of controllably structured hydrogen evolution photocatalysts with improved catalytic properties for sustainable energy applications.