Enhancement of Hydrogen Evolution Reaction Performance of Graphitic Carbon Nitride with Incorporated Nickel Boride

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) functioning as a semiconductor catalyst and sustainable and clean energy carrier to substitute fossil energy is gaining the attention of researchers. Hydrogen is regarded as the right energy carrier to meet future conditions, and hence, developing hydrogen economy is intensively investigated for its great electrocatalytic property. However, it is blocked as an electrocatalyst due to its poor conductivity and electrochemical activity. Therefore, to conquer such shortcomings, changing the nanostructure and increasing active sites are studied. Here, we report a facile method by incorporation of nickel boride (Ni2B) nanoparticles into bulk g-C3N4 to enlarge the specific surface area, exfoliate the layers, and improve the electronic conductivity. The obtained catalysts exhibit better hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance with a low onset overpotential of 300 mV, a Tafel slope of 221 mV dec–1, and an overpotential of 707 mV at the current density of 10 mA cm–2, superior to original g-C3N4 which demonstrates that Ni2B-decorated g-C3N4 is an illuminating method to enhance the HER performance. This work also provides a reference for g-C3N4 based catalyst working in broader field.