Efficient Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting by g-C3N4/TiO2 Nanotube Array Heterostructures

Changhai Liu, Fang Wang, Jin Zhang, Ke Wang, Yangyang Qiu, Qian Liang, Zhidong Chen

Index: 10.1007/s40820-018-0192-6

Full Text: HTML

Abstract

Well-ordered TiO2 nanotube arrays (TNTAs) decorated with graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) were fabricated by anodic oxidization and calcination process. First, TNTAs were prepared via the anodic oxidation of Ti foil in glycerol solution containing fluorinion and 20% deionized water. Subsequently, g-C3N4 film was hydrothermally grown on TNTAs via the hydrogen-bonded cyanuric acid melamine supramolecular complex. The results showed that g-C3N4 was successfully decorated on the TNTAs and the g-C3N4/TNTAs served as an efficient and stable photoanode for photoelectrochemical water splitting. The facile deposition method enables the fabrication of efficient and low-cost photoanodes for renewable energy applications.