Issue 3, 2024

Sulfur-doped g-C3N4 photocatalyst for significantly steered visible light photocatalytic H2 evolution from water splitting

Abstract

Semiconductor polymeric graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) is considered a favorable candidate for converting solar energy into chemical energy driven by visible light. Nevertheless, its practical applications are largely impeded by the low specific surface area, fast recombination of photoexcited electron–hole pairs, and limited visible-light response range. Therefore, it is highly desirable to improve the photocatalytic performance of metal-free g-C3N4 photocatalysts at the molecular level by elemental doping. This study developed a rational cross-linking copolymerization strategy to synthesize sulfur-doped g-C3N4 (S-CN) using urea and 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (4-MBA) as precursors. The results indicate that the introduction of S atoms onto the g-C3N4 framework through the formation of C–S bonds leads to the reduction of the interlayer stacking distances, narrowing of the band gap, expansion of visible-light absorption regions, and increased separation and transfer of photoinduced electron–hole pairs. The optimal S-CN-7 sample exhibits outstanding photocatalytic performance under visible light with the highest hydrogen production rate of 133.12 μmol h−1, which was nearly 8-fold higher than that of pure g-C3N4 (16.83 μmol h−1). In addition, the S-CN sample shows high photocatalytic stability after recycling experiments of up to 20 hours. Theoretical calculations show that doping with S leaves the sample with impurity states, making it easy for photogenerated electrons to jump from the valence band to the impurity state or from the impurity state to the conduction band.

Graphical abstract: Sulfur-doped g-C3N4 photocatalyst for significantly steered visible light photocatalytic H2 evolution from water splitting

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
26 Oct 2023
Accepted
27 Dec 2023
First published
28 Dec 2023

Catal. Sci. Technol., 2024,14, 606-614

Sulfur-doped g-C3N4 photocatalyst for significantly steered visible light photocatalytic H2 evolution from water splitting

X. Lu, L. Xu, I. Ullah, H. Li and A. Xu, Catal. Sci. Technol., 2024, 14, 606 DOI: 10.1039/D3CY01499A

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