A Metal-Organic-Framework-Derived g-C3 N4 /α-Fe2 O3 Hybrid for Enhanced Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution.

As one of the most efficient systems for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution, the Z-Scheme system, consisting of different semiconductors with a reversible donor-acceptor pair, has attracted great attention. Considering the non-toxicity and low cost of photocatalysts, a series of g-C3 N4 /α-Fe2 O3 hybrids were rationally constructed based on the Z-Scheme mechanism for the first time, using a metal-organic framework template approach that can fine tune the compositions and properties of the hybrids. An optimized hybrid, g-C3 N4 /α-Fe2 O3 -2, exhibited prominent photocatalytic water splitting performance with a visible light response. Under irradiation of visible light (λ>420 nm), the hybrid shows a high durability and superior hydrogen production rate of 2066.2 μmol g-1  h-1 from water splitting, which is approximately three times greater than that of bulk g-C3 N4 because of the effective separation of photo-excited charge carriers by two narrow band gap semiconductors, tightly coupled with the Z-Scheme structural feature.