Consciously Constructing Heterojunction or Direct Z-Scheme Photocatalysts by Regulating Electron Flow Direction

Heterojunction and direct Z-scheme nanostructures are two typical representatives of an efficient photocatalyst, which is composed of two semiconductors. However, it is a great challenge to construct each of them on purpose. The photodeposition technique can be a potentially powerful tool to regulate the electron flow direction for constructing these nanostructures. In this report, CdS nanoparticles were deposited on the g-C3N4 nanosheets by photodeposition and chemical deposition methods for comparison. In the photodeposition case, PL and charge flow tracking demonstrate that a type II heterojunction is constructed because CdS is selectively deposited at the electron transfer site of g-C3N4, which leads to the photoexcited electron from g–C3N4 tending to transfer to CdS in the composites. In the latter, the CdS is randomly deposited onto the g-C3N4 nanosheets through chemical deposition. There is no preferred site for deposition or charge transfer in the composite. The results illustrate that the electro...