Regulating the Assembly of Precursors of Carbon Nitrides to Improve Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production

• Published in: Catalysts Vol. 12; no. 12; p. 1634
• Main Authors: Liu, Xinying, Zhao, Chengxiao, Muhmood, Tahir, Yang, Xiaofei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.12.2022
• Subjects: Acids; Analysis; Assembly; Carbon; Carbon nitride; Carrier mobility; Carrier recombination; Catalysts; Catalytic activity; Chemical reactions; Current carriers; Cyanuric acid; Diamines; Electrodes; Electromagnetic absorption; Ethanol; Graphite; graphitic carbon nitride; Hydrocarbons; Hydrogen; Hydrogen evolution; Hydrogen production; Mechanical properties; Melamine; Morphology; Nitrides; Optical properties; Photocatalysis; Polymerization; Precursors; Scanning electron microscopy; Solvents; Spectrum analysis; Toxicity; Water splitting; China
• ISSN: 2073-4344; 2073-4344
• DOI: 10.3390/catal12121634

Two-dimensional graphitic carbon nitrides (2D g-C3N4) are promising photocatalysts for water splitting to hydrogen due to their non-toxicity and high stability. However, the bulk g-C3N4 has some intrinsic drawbacks, such as rapid electron–hole recombination and low charge-carrier mobility, resulting in poor photocatalytic activity. Here, 2,4-diamine-6-phenyl-1,3,5-triazine was employed as a precursor to regulating the assembly of melamine and cyanuric acid in water. The resulting g-C3N4 not only improved the visible light absorption and electron–hole separation but also provided more catalytic sites for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. The modified g-C3N4 (CNP10-H) showed a hydrogen-releasing rate of 2184 μmol·g−1·h−1, much higher than the bulk g-C3N4.