An S-scheme artificial photosynthetic system with H-TiO2/g-C3N4 heterojunction coupled with MXene boosts solar H2 evolution

doi:10.1016/j.jmst.2024.05.047

Abstract

Abstract: Solar hydrogen production via water splitting is pivotal for solar energy harnessing, addressing key challenges in energy and environmental sustainability. However, two critical issues persist with single-component photocatalysts: suboptimal carrier transport and inadequate light absorption. While heterojunction-based artificial photosynthetic systems like Z-scheme photocatalysts have been explored, their charge recombination and light harvesting efficiency are still unsatisfactory. S-scheme heterojunctions have gained attention in photocatalysis, owing to their pronounced built-in electric field and superior redox capabilities. In this study, we introduce a MXene-based S-scheme H-TiO₂/g-C₃N₄/Ti₃C₂ heterojunction (TCMX), synthesized through electrostatic self-assembly. The as-prepared TCMX exhibited an excellent photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate of 53.67 mmol g^-1 h^-1 surpassing the performance of commercial Rutile TiO₂, H-TiO₂, g-C₃N₄, and HTCN. The effectiveness of TCMX is largely due to the built-in electric field in the S-scheme heterojunction and the cocatalytic activity of MXene promoting rapid separation of photogenerated charges and resulting in well-separated electron and hole enriched sites. This study offers a new approach to enhance photocatalytic hydrogen evolution efficiency and paves the way for the future design of S-scheme heterojunctions.

Key words: S-scheme, MXene, Heterojunction, Hydrogen, Charge transfer

Depeng Meng, Xiaowen Ruan, Minghua Xu, Dongxu Jiao, Guozhen Fang, Yu Qiu, Yueyang Zhang, Haiyan Zhang, Sai Kishore Ravi, Xiaoqiang Cui. An S-scheme artificial photosynthetic system with H-TiO₂/g-C₃N₄ heterojunction coupled with MXene boosts solar H₂ evolution[J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2025, 211: 22-29.

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An S-scheme artificial photosynthetic system with H-TiO₂/g-C₃N₄ heterojunction coupled with MXene boosts solar H₂ evolution

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