Red phosphor/g-C₃N₄ heterojunction with enhanced photocatalytic activities for solar fuels production

We report a composite photocatalyst by coupling red phosphor (r-P) and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄). The introduction of g-C₃N₄ onto r-P surface led to considerable improvement on the photocatalytic activity for H₂ production and CO₂ conversion into valuable hydrocarbon fuel (CH₄) in the presence of water vapor. The enhancement could be attributed to the effective separation of photogenerated electrons and holes across the r-P/g-C₃N₄ heterojunction. Owing to the advantages of non-toxicity, low cost and abundance in nature, this active heterostructural r-P/g-C₃N₄ photocatalyst would have great potential for efficient solar fuels production.