Carbon-nitride-based core–shell nanomaterials: synthesis and applications

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics Vol. 29; no. 23; pp. 20280 - 20301
• Main Authors: Guo, Qiang, Wan, Yongli, Hu, Bingbing, Wang, Xitao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.12.2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Carbon; Carbon dioxide; Carbon nitride; Catalysis; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemical synthesis; Chemistry and Materials Science; Condensates; Corrosion prevention; Electrical properties; Hydrogen production; Materials Science; Nanocomposites; Nanomaterials; Optical and Electronic Materials; Optical properties; Oxidation; Photoelectricity; Pollutants; Shell stability; Synergistic effect; Water splitting
• ISSN: 0957-4522; 1573-482X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-018-0162-2

As a new type of photo-catalyst, graphitic carbon-nitride-based core–shell nanocomposites (nanomaterial@g-C 3 N 4 ) have shown promising prospect for various applications in the photo-catalysis and other related fields when compared to bare graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ) due to their unique physicochemical, optical and electrical properties resulting from the synergistic effect between core and shell, and also the protection of g-C 3 N 4 shell to inhabit the reaggregation, photo-corrosion, oxidation or dissolution of nanocore. In this review, we have systematically summarized the preparation of g-C 3 N 4 - based composites, including physical adsorption, hydrothermal growth, thermal vapor condensation and the newly-developed precursor wrapping method according to recent researches. The advantages of g-C 3 N 4 - based core–shell composites including their physicochemical properties, stability, optical and electronic properties are highlighted. Various applications are addressed, such as photo-catalytic hydrogen production from water splitting, photo-catalytic degradation of organic pollutants, photo-catalytic reduction of carbon dioxide, and photo-electric anti-corrosion. Various strategies for designing and constructing highly effective g-C 3 N 4 -based core–shell composites are also thoroughly proposed, including band-gap and lattice match, optimization of the preparation method of nanocomposites and nanocore characteristics. This review can provide new directions in exploring g-C 3 N 4 -based nanomaterials for the applications in photo-catalysis or related fields as well as novel fabrication methods.