Wide-direct-band-gap monolayer carbon nitride CN2: a potential metal-free photocatalyst for overall water splitting

Abstract

Two dimensional metal-free semiconductors with high work function have attracted extensive research interest in the field of photocatalytic water splitting. Herein, we have proposed a kind of highly stable monolayer carbon nitride CN₂ with an anisotropic structure based on first principles density functional theory. The calculations of electronic structure properties, performed using the HSE06 functional, indicate that monolayer CN₂ has a wide direct band gap of 2.836 eV and a high work function of 6.54 eV. And the suitable band edge alignment, high electron mobility (∼10³ cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹) and visible-light optical absorption suggest that monolayer CN₂ has potential on visible-light photocatalytic water splitting at pH ranging from 0 to 14. Moreover, we have observed that uniaxial strain can effectively control the electronic structure properties and optical absorption of monolayer CN₂, which can further improve its solar to hydrogen efficiency from 9.6% to 16.02% under 5% uniaxial tension strain along the Y direction. Our calculations have not only proposed a new type of potential metal-free photocatalyst for water splitting but also provided a functional part with high work function for type-I and scheme-Z heterojunction applied in photocatalytic water splitting.