Fabrication of g‐C₃N₄/Au/C‐TiO₂ Hollow Structures as Visible‐Light‐Driven Z‐Scheme Photocatalysts with Enhanced Photocatalytic H₂ Evolution

The Z‐scheme photocatalytic system for water splitting based on semiconductors has exhibited great potential for H 2 fuel production from renewable resources. In this work, we constructed g‐C 3 N 4 /Au/C‐TiO 2 hollow spheres as an all‐solid‐state Z‐scheme photocatalytic system with Au nanoparticles as the electron mediator. The as‐synthesized g‐C 3 N 4 /Au/C‐TiO 2 photocatalyst showed a remarkably enhanced photocatalytic H 2 evolution rate under visible‐light irradiation ( λ >420 nm), which was 86 and 42 times higher than those of pure C‐TiO 2 and g‐C 3 N 4 , respectively. The enhancement of photocatalytic performance can be mainly attributed to the intentionally designed Z‐scheme system, which not only promoted the efficient transfer and separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs, but also retained the strong redox ability of the charge carriers. In addition, the Z‐scheme system also achieved high visible‐light absorption and utilization owing to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of Au nanoparticles and hollow structures of C‐TiO 2 . All the factors synergistically promote the photocatalytic activity of the g‐C 3 N 4 /Au/C‐TiO 2 hollow nanospheres, providing a promising method for the rational design of highly efficient visible‐light‐driven photocatalysts.