A photo-excited electron transfer hyperchannel constructed in Pt-dispersed pyrimidine-modified carbon nitride for remarkably enhanced water-splitting photocatalytic activity

Abstract Electron transfer kinetics plays a crucial role in water-splitting hydrogen evolution reaction, and accelerating the electron transfer while preventing charge recombination are one of the key factors in improving solar-fuel conversion. Here, we report the construction of a photo-excited electron transfer hyperchannel in Pt-dispersed pyrimidine-modified carbon nitride (PMCN) for remarkably enhanced water-splitting photocatalytic activity. The electrophilic pyrimidine groups were incorporated in polymeric carbon nitride (CN) to withdraw photo-excited electrons upon illumination and in the meantime donate the electrons to the wherein anchored Pt particles, providing fast electron transfer hyperchannels across the catalyst interface, which greatly promoted the photo-excited electron/hole separation and prevented their recombination. As a result, Pt-anchored PMCN exhibited remarkably enhanced photocatalytic performance, with the highest H2 evolution under visible light irradiation reaching 3279.7 μmol h−1 g−1 and AQY% being 6% at 420 nm, 15.3 times higher than that of CN. The construction of electron transfer hyperchannel introduced a novel, facile and effective strategy to promote charge separation, presenting a new viewpoint for the rational design of photocatalysts to achieve improved solar-fuel conversion.