Facile Fabrication of a Novel Au/Phosphorus-Doped g-C3N4 Photocatalyst with Excellent Visible Light Photocatalytic Activity

The intrinsic disadvantages of pristine graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) significantly restrict its applications in photocatalysis field. Hence, we have demonstrated facile thermal copolymerization and in situ photodeposition methods to fabricate a novel Au/phosphorus-doped g-C3N4 (Au/P-g-C3N4) photocatalyst. The results showed that phosphorus was doped into the structure of g-C3N4 and that the surface deposition of gold was successfully accomplished. The H2 generation rate of the optimal Au/P-g-C3N4 is 8.4 times compared with the pristine g-C3N4 under visible light irradiation. The enhancement of photocatalytic activity is due to the synergic effect between gold induced surface plasmon resonance and the modified structural and electronic properties of the g-C3N4 induced by the phosphorus dopant.