Issue 19, 2018

Enhanced hydrogen photogeneration by bulk g-C3N4 through a simple and efficient oxidation route

Abstract

The search for new environment-friendly visible-light absorbing catalysts is an urgent task. g-C3N4 has excellent photocatalytic properties and the possibility of developing cost-effective routes to make this material a viable alternative to the currently used catalysts is required. In this work, we show that a simple chemical oxidation process of g-C3N4 with nitric acid allowed significantly enhancing the hydrogen photogeneration from aqueous triethanolamine, under simulated solar light. An 8-fold improvement of the H2 production, with respect to the pristine sample, was achieved by properly controlling the physical–chemical parameters of the oxidation process, reaching a value of about 4000 μmol g−1 h−1, which is one of the highest hydrogen production rates for bulk g-C3N4. Such high levels of photocatalytic activity result from the combination of improved surface area and changes in the electronic structure induced by the oxidation process.

Graphical abstract: Enhanced hydrogen photogeneration by bulk g-C3N4 through a simple and efficient oxidation route

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
22 Jan 2018
Accepted
23 Apr 2018
First published
23 Apr 2018

Dalton Trans., 2018,47, 6772-6778

Enhanced hydrogen photogeneration by bulk g-C3N4 through a simple and efficient oxidation route

A. Pisanu, A. Speltini, B. Vigani, F. Ferrari, M. Mannini, N. Calisi, B. Cortigiani, A. Caneschi, P. Quadrelli, A. Profumo and L. Malavasi, Dalton Trans., 2018, 47, 6772 DOI: 10.1039/C8DT00276B

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements