Chemical and structural changes of g-C3N4 through oxidative physical vapor deposition

• Published in: Applied surface science Vol. 600; p. 154079
• Main Authors: Chebanenko, M.I., Lebedev, L.A., Ugolkov, V.L., Prasolov, N.D., Nevedomskiy, V.N., Popkov, V.I.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 30.10.2022
• Subjects: g-C3N4; Graphitic carbon nitride; Optical properties; Physical vapor deposition; Porous materials; g-C3N4; Physical vapor deposition; Porous materials; Optical properties; Graphitic carbon nitride
• ISSN: 0169-4332; 1873-5584
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2022.154079

•The initial g-C3N4 powder was obtained by thermolysis of urea in air in the air.•The g-C3N4 deposition method via oxidative physical vapor deposition was presented.•The studies have shown an increase in the structural homogeneity of the product.•It was found that the sublimated material has a nonspecific net-like morphology.•Changes in the electronic structure due to physical vapor deposition were discussed. [Display omitted] In this work, a novel synthetic route was proposed for producing a g-C3N4-based wide band gap semiconductor material and its thin film deposition via oxidative physical vapor deposition (OPVD). To study the phase composition of the initial and OPVD-deposited samples, the PXRD method was used. The analysis of the qualitative and quantitative composition was carried out using XPS. Finally, the change in the morphology of the samples was shown by SEM and Raman analyses. It was found that the OPVD-deposited sample shows an increase in graphite-like species and a decrease in pyridine and pyrrole forms of nitrogen. An increase in the band gap from 2.92 eV to 4.2 eV and a shift of the absorption edge to longer wavelengths allows to consider the deposited material as a base substance for the production of multi-junction carbon photocatalysts with a broader work spectrum.