Fe-Doped Porous g-C3N4: An Efficient Electrocatalyst with Fe-N Active Sites for Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Reaction under Alkaline Conditions

Herein, Fe-C3N4-TU was prepared by one-step pyrolysis of melamine (MA, carbon and nitrogen sources of g-C3N4) and Fe(NO3)(3)center dot 9H(2)O using thiourea (TU) as a pore-forming agent. Fe-C3N4-TU exhibits a low Tafel slope of 82 mV center dot dec(-1) and a low overpotential of 206 mV at the current density of 10 mA center dot cm(-2). The good HER (Electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction) catalytic performance of Fe-C3N4-TU is attributed to the high intrinsic activity of Fe N(III) coordination structure and porous structure with the intersecting channels. The Fe N(III) coordination structure is proved by the characterized results of the XRD, XPS, and FTIR, which originates from the strong affinity of rich pyridine N in the g-C3N4 to Fe ions. Simultaneously, the addition of TU as a pore-forming agent induces the formation of large specific surface area and mesoporous structures with large pore diameters, which facilitate the exposure of Fe N bonds and promotes H adsorption in the HER process.