Peat-derived nitrogen-doped porous carbons as photothermal-assisted visible-light photocatalysts for water splitting

Photocatalytic H₂ evolution is considered one of the most important processes for H₂ production. Carbon materials are potential candidates for large-scale and cost-effective photocatalytic water splitting, yet their activity needs to be further improved. We report the synthesis of nitrogen-doped porous carbons using peat moss as a precursor and urea as a nitrogen source. The properties of carbons as photothermal-assisted visible-light photocatalysts were investigated. Due to the photothermal effect, the system temperature increased quickly to 55 °C in 15 min under visible light irradiation, which subsequently helps increase the photocatalytic activity by about 25%. It has been found that the crystallinity and nitrogen content of the carbon materials can be changed by changing the carbonization temperature, and these have an impact on their photocatalytic activity. A peat-derived carbon carbonized at 800 °C, with a N content of 4.88 at.% and an appropriate crystallinity has an outstanding photocatalytic activity with a high H₂ evolution rate of 75.6 μmol H₂ g⁻¹ h⁻¹ under visible-light irradiation.