Metal‐Organic Framework Templated Synthesis ofg‐C3N4/Fe2O3@FeP Composites for Enhanced Hydrogen Production

Abstract The simultaneous construction of heterostructures and co‐catalyst loading while maintaining a tight contact favoring charge transfer is important for improving the photocatalytic H 2 production of g‐C 3 N 4 . Following this approach, we prepared herein a Fe 2 O 3 @FeP hybrid material by annealing and phosphidation of a g‐C 3 N 4 /Fe metal‐organic framework (MOF). The as‐prepared Fe 2 O 3 @FeP was used as both heterojunction and co‐catalyst material to enhance the photocatalytic H 2 evolution performance of g‐C 3 N 4 by water splitting under visible‐light irradiation. We developed an optimized g‐C 3 N 4 /Fe 2 O 3 @FeP‐60 catalyst with a H 2 evolution rate as high as 12.03 mmol g −1 h −1 under Eosin Y (EY, 1.0 mmol L −1 )‐sensitization. This rate was 12 times higher than that of pristine EY‐sensitized g‐C 3 N 4 (0.97 mmol g −1 h −1 ). The apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) at 420 nm was 38.8 %. The improved photocatalytic activity of this composite compared to g‐C 3 N 4 can be ascribed to: (i) its enhanced visible‐light absorption intensity; (ii) its efficient electron‐hole separation by the formation of a type‐II heterojunction with Fe 2 O 3 and the loading of an electron collector such as FeP; and (iii) the accelerated H + reductive reaction resulting from the FeP co‐catalyst. We believe that this work may pave the way for the construction of MOF‐based hybrid H 2 ‐evolution photocatalysts.