A facile approach to synthesize graphitic carbon nitride microwires for enhanced photocatalytic H2 evolution from water splitting under full solar spectrum

Abstract

In this study, we fabricated porous fiber-like g-C₃N₄ photocatalysts by calcifying melamine to improve the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance via a facile supramolecular hydrogel approach. The as-prepared g-C₃N₄ microwire (MW(III)) photocatalysts significantly enhanced hydrogen production under solar irradiation (16.88 μmol h⁻¹). The performances of photocatalysts fabricated from the same precursor via calcification improved with the increase in the crystallinity and the degree of polymerization. The use of different precursors led to variations in crystallinity, but H₂ production was correlated with the crystallinity of the photocatalysts synthesized from the same precursor with a similar trend. This study provides a novel strategy to synthesize metal-free g-C₃N₄ photocatalysts via increasing the crystallinity and degree of polymerization.