Near-infrared response Pt-tipped Au nanorods/g-C3N4 realizes photolysis of water to produce hydrogen

The search for a suitable cocatalyst for graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) to realize efficient photocatalytic hydrogen (H2) evolution has been regarded as one of the most valid tactics to alleviate energy crisis. Herein, a ternary Pt-tipped Au nanorods (Pt-Au)/g-C3N4 heterostructure is constructed, which shows excellent H2 production performance in visible and near-infrared (NIR) region, especially in NIR region with a rate of 51.6 μmol g−1 h−1. Therein, not only is the optical absorption ability of g-C3N4 broadened, the light absorption range is also extended to NIR region through introduction of Pt-Au architectures. Besides, analysis of the hot electrons generated in energy relaxation of plasmon indicates hot electron transfers fromexcited Au nanorods to Pt nanoparticles, resulting in H2 evolution. Compared with bare g-C3N4, the superior photocatalytic activity could be attributed to the surface plasmon resonance effect (SPR) of Au nanorods and the electron-sink function of Pt nanoparticles. This work provides an insight into the improvement of photocatalytic performance via combination of NIR-responsive plasmon metal with photocatalysts.