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Embedding of stereo molecular scaffold into the planar g-C3N4 nanosheets for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution under ordinary pressure

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Abstract

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), as an organic polymer semiconductor, has been the focus of photocatalysts due to its physical and chemical stability, low cost and non-toxicity. However, pristine g-C3N4 also has many drawbacks, such as small specific surface area and easy recombination of photoexcited carriers, which hampered its practical application. In this work, we first propose a design idea of embedding stereo molecular scaffold into g-C3N4 framework with a facile copolymerization method for better exfoliating g-C3N4 to reach a better photocatalytic hydrogen evolution under ordinary pressure. The stereo molecular scaffold looses the interlayer stacking of bulk g-C3N4, benefitting the exfoliation of g-C3N4. The hydrogen evolution activity of stereo molecular scaffold doped g-C3N4 (AMCN-3-E) is about 7.54 times higher than that of the pristine MCN, which may due to the activated π → π* and n → π* electron transitions, creating more electron transition paths and accelerating the separation of photoexcited electrons and holes.

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Acknowledgements

Financial support from National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51872138), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (No. BK20181380), Key University Science Research Project of Jiangsu Province (No. 15KJB430022), Qing Lan Project, Six Talent Peaks Project in Jiangsu Province (No. XCL-029) and Priority Academic Program Development of the Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD) is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 210009, People’s Republic of China

    Ling Zhou, Menglong Sun, Jiahui Kou, Chunhua Lu & Zhongzi Xu

  2. Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Inorganic Function Composites, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 210009, People’s Republic of China

    Ling Zhou, Menglong Sun, Jiahui Kou, Chunhua Lu, Ling Li, Fangshu Zhang & Zhongzi Xu

  3. Jiangsu National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 210009, People’s Republic of China

    Ling Zhou, Menglong Sun, Jiahui Kou, Chunhua Lu, Ling Li, Fangshu Zhang & Zhongzi Xu

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  1. Ling Zhou
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Correspondence to Ling Zhou.

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Zhou, L., Sun, M., Kou, J. et al. Embedding of stereo molecular scaffold into the planar g-C3N4 nanosheets for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution under ordinary pressure. J Mater Sci 56, 1630–1642 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-020-05287-x

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