Non-noble metal Ni-Mo alloys with special electronic structure as a cocatalyst for alternative Pt in photocatalysis*

Noble metals are often used as cocatalysts in photocatalysis due to their special electrical properties. However, the high cost of noble metals severely limits the development and application of photocatalytic technology. Therefore, the development of non-noble metal cocatalysts is of great significance in the field of photocatalysis. In this work, noble-metal-free Ni-Mo alloys with different Ni/Mo ratios were developed and used as cocatalyst to replace the noble metal Pt using g-C₃N₄ as a substrate. Experimental results show that the optimal Ni₄Mo₆/g-C₃N₄ photocatalyst has a photocatalytic H₂ production rate of up to 1785 μmol/g/h, which is about 37 times higher than that of pure g-C₃N₄, and comparable to that of the Pt/g-C₃N₄. The improved photocatalytic performance can be attributed to the presence of Ni-Mo alloys with special electronic structure, which effectively promotes the separation of photogenerated e^-/h⁺ pairs.