Z-scheme LaCoO 3 /C 3 N 5 for efficient full-spectrum light-simulated solar photocatalytic hydrogen generation.

The development of photocatalysts with high activity and low cost is still a major challenge. Since its synthesis in 2019, C 3 N 5 has become an emerging photocatalytic material and has been widely studied. In this work, we report on the preparation of LaCoO 3 /C 3 N 5 nanosheets and the use of LaCoO 3 instead of precious metals to improve photocatalytic hydrogen production activity. First, LaCoO 3 was successfully prepared by the sol-gel method and then a series of high-efficiency Z-type LaCoO 3 /C 3 N 5 heterojunction photocatalysts were synthesized by the solvothermal method. Various characterization techniques (XRD, FT-IR, SEM, TEM, EDS, XPS, UV-Vis DRS, BET, ESR) confirmed the formation between LaCoO 3 nanoparticles and C 3 N 5 nanosheet heterostructures and interface interactions. In the photocatalytic water split test, 50 wt% LaCoO 3 /C 3 N 5 showed the highest photocatalytic activity of 956.11 μmol h -1 g -1 , which was 3.21 and 1.59 times that of LaCoO 3 and C 3 N 5 , respectively. This work not only designs an inexpensive and efficient LaCoO 3 /C 3 N 5 photocatalytic system for water splitting or other photocatalytic applications, but also provides ideas for constructing new material photocatalytic systems.