Versatile\nFunctional Porous Cobalt–Nickel Phosphide–Carbon\nCocatalyst Derived from a Metal–Organic Framework for Boosting\nthe Photocatalytic Activity of Graphitic Carbon Nitride

Abstract

Metal–organic\nframework-templated g-C₃N₄–NiCoP₂–porous carbon (PC) ternary hybrid\nnanomaterials were designed by taking full advantage of the metal–organic\nframework (MOF) derivative in the photocatalytic reaction for the\nfirst time. The MOF-templated porous structure could prevent the stacking\nof the carbon nitride nanosheet, and the carefully designed NiCoP₂, possessing low electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction\n(HER) overpotential and flat-band potential, could improve the separation\nas well as the utilization efficiency of photogenerated electron–hole\npairs. Moreover, the ligand-templated porous carbon, acting as an\ninterface mediator between g-C₃N₄ and the NiCoP₂ cocatalyst, could boost the charge carrier transport. Consequently,\nthe optimal ternary g-C₃N₄–NiCoP₂–PC heterostructure exhibited enhanced photocatalytic\nHER performance and considerable H₂ evolution performance\nof 5.8 μmol/h/g under UV–visible light with stoichiometric\nH₂O₂ production even in pure water. This work\ntook full advantage of the MOF derivative for improving the photocatalytic\nreaction activity and provided a method that can hopefully help in\ndesigning a novel high-performance catalyst for solar conversion.