Issue 4, 2023

Developing extended visible light responsive polymeric carbon nitrides for photocatalytic and photoelectrocatalytic applications

Abstract

Polymeric carbon nitride (CN) has emerged as an attractive material for photocatalysis and photoelectronic devices. However, the synthesis of porous CNs with controlled structural and optical properties remains a challenge, and processable CN precursors are still highly sought after for fabricating homogenous CN layers strongly bound to a given substrate. Here, we report a general method to synthesize highly dispersed porous CN materials that show excellent photocatalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction and good performance as photoanodes in photoelectrochemical cells (PEC): first, supramolecular assemblies of melem and melamine in ethylene glycol and water are prepared using a hydrothermal process. These precursors are then calcined to yield a water-dispersible CN photocatalyst that exhibits beneficial charge separation under illumination, extended visible-light response attributed to carbon doping, and a large number of free amine groups that act as preferential sites for a Pt cocatalyst. The optimized CN exhibits state-of-the-art HER rates up to 23.1 mmol h−1 g−1, with an AQE of 19.2% at 395 nm. This unique synthetic route enables the formation of a homogeneous precursor paste for substrate casting; consequently, the CN photoanode exhibits a low onset potential, a high photocurrent density and good stability after calcination.

Graphical abstract: Developing extended visible light responsive polymeric carbon nitrides for photocatalytic and photoelectrocatalytic applications

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
04 Jan. 2023
Accepted
25 Jan. 2023
First published
26 Jan. 2023

Mater. Horiz., 2023,10, 1363-1372

Developing extended visible light responsive polymeric carbon nitrides for photocatalytic and photoelectrocatalytic applications

S. Mondal, G. Mark, L. Abisdris, J. Li, T. Shmila, J. Tzadikov, M. Volokh, L. Xing and M. Shalom, Mater. Horiz., 2023, 10, 1363 DOI: 10.1039/D3MH00016H

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