One-step synthesis of novel K+ and cyano groups decorated triazine-/heptazine-based g-C3N4 tubular homojunctions for boosting photocatalytic H2 evolution

By Jian Yang, Yujun Liang, Kai Li, Gui Yang, Kun Wang, Ruizhi Xu, Xianjun Xie. 2020

218 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract Constructing homojunctions with different morphologies, exposing facets, crystal phases or semiconductor types in a photocatalyst is an essential approach to boost the photoactivity. Herein, the g-C3N4 phase homojunctions decorated with cyano groups and K+ were designed and successfully synthesized via only adjusting the reaction temperatures within a facile one-step molten salt route. Such unique junctions were constructed through the overgrowth of triazine-based g-C3N4 nanoparticles embedded in the surface and inner wall of heptazine-based g-C3N4 hollow tubes. Benefited from the multiple advantages of high specific surface area, unique tubular structure, enhanced visible light absorption, and fast charge transfer and separation, the triazine-/heptazine-based g-C3N4 homojunctions drastically enhanced the photocatalytic hydrogen production performance, achieving a 2 and 12-fold improvement than the pristine g-C3N4 microtube and bulk g-C3N4, respectively. This study provides an in-depth insight into the design and fabrication of other g-C3N4-based photocatalysts for more efficient solar energy conversion applications.

Subfields: Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Materials Chemistry, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/9b71ec3556725895272872e07eef24d5382e1462