An experimental study on the Co-C3N4/BiPO(4)composite for efficient photocatalytic water splitting

The Co-C3N4/BiPO(4)photocatalyst is facilely synthesized for application in photocatalytic water splitting. The physical and chemical properties of Co-C3N4/BiPO(4)are studied by a wide range of characterization methods. The Co-CN/BP photocatalyst shows good photocatalytic activity for H(2)evolution by water splitting without using a noble metal. The Co-C3N4/BiPO(4)composite with 5 wt% Co-C(3)N(4)loading exhibits a superior photocatalytic H(2)evolution rate of 23.9 mu mol h(-1)g(-1). The remarkable enhancement of the photocatalytic H(2)evolution activity of Co-C3N4/BiPO(4)composites is mainly ascribed to the effective charge transfer and separation of the electron-hole pairs by the lattice-matched heterojunction structure. This work extends opportunities for the design of non-noble metal photocatalysts with efficient photocatalytic water splitting.