Harnessing the Power of Light: The Synergistic Effects of Crystalline Carbon Nitride and Ti3C2Tx MXene in Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production

Abstract Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution is an environmentally friendly means of energy generation. Although g‐C 3 N 4 possesses fascinating features, its inherent shortcomings limit its photocatalytic applications. Therefore, modifying the intrinsic properties of g‐C 3 N 4 and introducing cocatalysts are essential to ameliorate the photocatalytic efficiency. To achieve this, metal‐like Ti 3 C 2 T x is integrated with crystalline g‐C 3 N 4 via a combined salt‐assisted and freeze‐drying approach to form crystalline g‐C 3 N 4 /Ti 3 C 2 T x (CCN/TCT) hybrids with different Ti 3 C 2 T x loading amounts (0, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 1, 5, 10 wt.%). Benefiting from the crystallization of CN, as evidenced by the XRD graph, and the marvelous conductivity of Ti 3 C 2 T x supported by EIS plots, CCN/TCT/Pt loaded with 0.5 wt.% Ti 3 C 2 T x displays an elevated H2 (2) should be subscripted evolution rate of 2651.93 µmol g −1 h −1 and a high apparent quantum efficiency of 7.26% (420 nm), outperforming CN/Pt, CCN/Pt, and other CCN/TCT/Pt hybrids. The enhanced performance is attributed to the synergistic effect of the highly crystalline structure of CCN that enables fleet charge transport and the efficient dual cocatalysts, Ti 3 C 2 T x and Pt, that foster charge separation and provide plentiful active sites. This work demonstrates the potential of CCN/TCT as a promising material for hydrogen production, suggesting a significant advancement in the design of CCN heterostructures for effective photocatalytic systems.