Crystalline Carbon Nitride Nanosheets for Improved Visible-Light Hydrogen Evolution

Highly Crystalline K-Intercalated Polymeric Carbon Nitride for Visible-Light Photocatalytic Alkenes and Alkynes Deuterations

In addition to the significance of photocatalytic hydrogen evolution, the utilization of the in situ generated H/D (deuterium) active species from water splitting for artificial photosynthesis of high value-added chemicals is very attractive and promising. Herein, photocatalytic water splitting technology is utilized to generate D-active species (i.e., Dad) that can be stabilized on anchored 2nd metal catalyst and are readily for tandem controllable deuterations of carbon-carbon multibonds to produce high value-added D-labeled chemicals/pharmaceuticals. A highly crystalline K cations intercalated polymeric carbon nitride (KPCN), rationally designed, and fabricated by a solid-template induced growth, is served as an ultraefficient photocatalyst, which shows a greater than 18-fold enhancement in the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution over the bulk PCN. The photocatalytic in situ generated D-species by superior KPCN are utilized for selective deuteration of a variety of alkenes and alkynes by anchored 2nd catalyst, Pd nanoparticles, to produce the corresponding D-labeled chemicals and pharmaceuticals with high yields and D-incorporation. This work highlights the great potential of developing photocatalytic water splitting technology for artificial photosynthesis of value-added chemicals instead of H2 evolution.

Enhanced Visible Light Photocatalytic Reduction of Cr(VI) over a Novel Square Nanotube Poly(Triazine Imide)/TiO2 Heterojunction

Hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) pollution makes has a harmful impact on human health and the ecological environment. Photocatalysis reduction technology exhibits low energy consumption, high reduction efficiency and stable performance, and is playing an increasingly important role in chromium pollution control. Graphite-phase carbon nitride has been used to reduce Cr(VI) to the less harmful Cr(III) due to its visible light catalytic activity, chemical stability and low cost. However, it has a low specific surface area and fast recombination of electron–hole pairs, which severely restrict its practical application. In this work, a TiO2-modified poly(triazine imide) (PTI) square nanotube was prepared by the one-step molten salts method. The results showed the PTI had a square hollow nanotube morphology, with an about 100–1000 nm width and 60–70 nm thickness. During the formation of the PTI square tube, TiO2 nanoparticles adhere to the surface of the square tube wall by strong adsorption, and eventually form a PTI/TiO2 heterojunction. The PTI/TiO2-7 wt% heterojunction exhibited very good Cr(VI) reduction efficiency within 120 min. The enhanced photocatalytic activity was mainly attributed to the efficient separation and transport of photo-induced electron–hole pairs and the high specific surface area in the heterojunction structure.

Atomic layer deposition with rotary reactor for uniform hetero-junction photocatalyst, g-C3N4@TiO2 core–shell structures

A heterojunction of TiO₂ grown on g-C₃N₄ particles is demonstrated using atomic layer deposition (ALD), equipped with a specifically designed rotary reactor for maintaining stable mechanical dispersion of g-C₃N₄ particles during ALD. The photocatalytic activity of the g-C₃N₄@ALD-TiO₂ core–shell composites was examined using the degradation of rhodamine B dye under visible light irradiation. The optimal composite with 5 ALD cycles of TiO₂ exhibited the highest photocatalytic reaction rate constant among the composites with a range of ALD cycles from 2 to 200 cycles, which was observed to be 3 times higher than that of pristine g-C₃N₄ and 2 times higher than that of g-C₃N₄@TiO₂ composite prepared using a simple impregnation method. The ALD-TiO₂ were well-dispersed on the g-C₃N₄ surface, while TiO₂ nanoparticles were agglomerated onto the g-C₃N₄ in the g-C₃N₄@TiO₂ composite prepared by the impregnation method. This created uniform and stable heterojunctions between the g-C₃N₄ and TiO₂, thus, enhancing the photocatalytic activity.

A heterojunction of TiO₂ grown on g-C₃N₄ particles is demonstrated using atomic layer deposition (ALD), equipped with a specifically designed rotary reactor for maintaining stable mechanical dispersion of g-C₃N₄ particles during ALD.

In situ growth of triazine–heptazine based carbon nitride film for efficient (photo)electrochemical performance

Carbon nitride polymer film with a triazine–heptazine network on FTO as a bifunctional electrode shows boosted (photo)electrochemical performance for water splitting.

Photocatalytic coupled redox cycle for two organic transformations over Pd/carbon nitride composites

We report a photocatalytic coupling approach to promote simultaneously two organic transformations using Pd/carbon nitride composites.

Molecular Doping of Electrochemically Prepared Triazine-Based Carbon Nitride by 2,4,6-Triaminopyrimidine for Improved Photocatalytic Properties

Copolymerization of melamine with 2,4,6-triaminopyrimidine (TAP) in an electrochemically induced polymerization process leads to the formation of molecular doped poly(triazine imide) (PTI). The polymerization is based on the electrolysis of water and evolving radicals during this process. The incorporation of TAP is shown by techniques such as elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared and NMR spectroscopies, and powder X-ray diffraction, and it is shown that the carbon content can be tuned by the variation of the molar ratio of the two precursors. This incorporation of TAP directly influences the electronic structure of PTI and as a result, a red shift can be observed in UV-vis spectroscopy. The smaller band gap and the increased absorption in the visible range lead to improved photocatalytic properties. In dye degradation experiments, it was possible to observe an increase of the rate of the degradation of methylene blue by a factor of 4 in comparison to undoped PTI or 7 if compared to melon.

Porous Organic Polymers: An Emerged Platform for Photocatalytic Water Splitting

Porous organic polymers (POPs), known for its high surface area and abundant porosity, can be easily designed and constructed at the molecular level. The POPs offer confined molecular spaces for the interplay of photons, excitons, electrons and holes, therefore featuring great potential in catalysis. In this review, a brief summary on the recent development of some current state-of-the-art POPs for photocatalytic water splitting and their design principles and synthetic strategies as well as relationship between structure and photocatalytic hydrogen or oxygen evolution performance are presented. Future prospects including research directions are also proposed, which may provide insights for developing POPs for photocatalytic water splitting with our expectations.

Honeycomb-like carbon nitride through supramolecular preorganization of monomers for high photocatalytic performance under visible light irradiation

A metal-free modified carbon nitride MCU(DMSO)-C₃N₄ (3:3:1) with a honeycomb-like morphology was prepared via firstly introducing cyanuric acid and urea into melamine in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as the precursor for the MCU-C₃N₄. A variety of characterization methods, including XRD, XPS, FT-IR, SEM, TEM, UV-vis, photoluminescence (PL), and photocurrent generation, were applied to investigate the structure, morphology, optical, and photoelectrochemical properties of the g-C₃N₄ and MCU-C₃N₄ (3:3:1). Rhodamine B (RhB), methylene blue (MB), and bisphenol A (BPA) were selected as target pollutants to evaluate photocatalytic activity of the MCU-C₃N₄ (3:3:1) under visible light irradiation. MCU-C₃N₄ (3:3:1) exhibits significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity compared with g-C₃N₄, where 99.49% RhB is removed within 40min, 97.7% MB is removed within 80 min, and 84.37% BPA is removed within 90 min. The improved photodegradation efficiency was mainly due to the larger surface area, the stronger REDOX ability, and the increased separation efficiency of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. The active radical trapping experiments and electron spin resonance tests indicated that h⁺ and O₂^- radicals were the dominant active species whereas OH radicals could be a minor factor. A possible photocatalytic mechanism is proposed. This strategy here provides an ideal platform for the design of photocatalysts with large surface area and high porosity for various pollutant controlling applications.

Drastically enhanced visible light-driven H2 evolution by anchoring TiO2 nanoparticles on molecularly grafted carbon nitride nanosheets via a multiple modification strategy

The development of graphitic carbon nitride (CN) based photocatalysts towards efficient visible light-driven H2 evolution is highly desired for solar energy conversion. It is well-known that bulk CN materials possess three intrinsic problems, namely, high charge recombination loss, low specific surface area, and limited sunlight harvesting range. To simultaneously overcome the abovementioned drawbacks of CN, we report an innovative multiple modification strategy, involving molecular grafting of the CN network, exfoliation to ultrathin nanosheets, and hybridization with TiO2 photocatalysts. The visible light utilization ability, specific surface area, and charge separation efficiency of the CN materials improved accordingly. As expected, the TiO2/CNX-NS heterojunction photocatalyst exhibited remarkably enhanced visible light-driven H2 production rate of 138.4 μmol h-1, which was about 4.6 times higher than that of pristine CN. The excellent photocatalytic performance under visible light confirmed the successful improvement in the corresponding drawbacks of CN by each modification. In this study, we propose the possibility of combining multiple modifications in the same system to synthesize an excellent visible light-driven photocatalyst for solar-to-fuel conversion.

Carbon nitrides and metal nanoparticles: from controlled synthesis to design principles for improved photocatalysis

The use of sunlight to drive chemical reactions via photocatalysis is of paramount importance towards a sustainable future. Among several photocatalysts, earth-abundant polymeric carbon nitride (PCN, often wrongly named g-C3N4) has emerged as an attractive candidate due to its ability to absorb light efficiently in the visible and near-infrared ranges, chemical stability, non-toxicity, straightforward synthesis, and versatility as a platform for constructing hybrid materials. Especially, hybrids with metal nanoparticles offer the unique possibility of combining the catalytic, electronic, and optical properties of metal nanoparticles with PCN. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of PCN materials and their hybrids, emphasizing heterostructures with metal nanoparticles. We focus on recent advances encompassing synthetic strategies, design principles, photocatalytic applications, and charge-transfer mechanisms. We also discuss how the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect of some noble metals NPs (e.g. Au, Ag, and Cu), bimetallic compositions, and even non-noble metals NPs (e.g., Bi) synergistically contribute with PCN in light-driven transformations. Finally, we provide a perspective on the field, in which the understanding of the enhancement mechanisms combined with truly controlled synthesis can act as a powerful tool to the establishment of the design principles needed to take the field of photocatalysis with PCN to a new level, where the desired properties and performances can be planned in advance, and the target material synthesized accordingly.

Dissolution and homogeneous photocatalysis of polymeric carbon nitride

After dissolution, a homogeneous carbon nitride photocatalyst showed boosted activity; meanwhile, the hallmarks of heterogeneous catalysts (facile separation and recycling) were retained.

As a metal-free conjugated polymer, carbon nitride (CN) has attracted tremendous attention as a heterogeneous (photo)catalyst. By following the example of enzymes, making all of the catalytic sites accessible via homogeneous reactions is a promising approach toward maximizing CN activity, but hindered due to the poor solubility of CN. Herein, we report the dissolution of CN in environmentally friendly methanesulfonic acid, and homogeneous photocatalysis (two biomimetic/pharmaceutical photocatalytic oxidation reactions) driven by CN for the first time with the activity boosted up to 10-times compared to the heterogeneous counterparts. Moreover, facile recycling and reusability, the hallmarks of heterogeneous catalysts, were kept for the homogeneous CN photocatalyst via reversible precipitation using poor solvents. This study opens a new vista for CN in homogeneous catalysis and offers a successful example of a polymeric catalyst that bridges the gap between homo/heterogeneous catalysis.

Sulfone-containing covalent organic frameworks for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from water

Nature uses organic molecules for light harvesting and photosynthesis, but most man-made water splitting catalysts are inorganic semiconductors. Organic photocatalysts, while attractive because of their synthetic tunability, tend to have low quantum efficiencies for water splitting. Here we present a crystalline covalent organic framework (COF) based on a benzo-bis(benzothiophene sulfone) moiety that shows a much higher activity for photochemical hydrogen evolution than its amorphous or semicrystalline counterparts. The COF is stable under long-term visible irradiation and shows steady photochemical hydrogen evolution with a sacrificial electron donor for at least 50 hours. We attribute the high quantum efficiency of fused-sulfone-COF to its crystallinity, its strong visible light absorption, and its wettable, hydrophilic 3.2 nm mesopores. These pores allow the framework to be dye-sensitized, leading to a further 61% enhancement in the hydrogen evolution rate up to 16.3 mmol g^-1 h^-1. The COF also retained its photocatalytic activity when cast as a thin film onto a support.

A stepwise crosslinking strategy toward lamellar carbon frameworks with covalently connected alternate layers of porous carbon nanosheets and porous carbon spacers

Lamellar carbon frameworks with covalently connected alternate layers of porous carbon nanosheets (PCNs) and porous carbon spacers (PCSs) were successfully fabricated based on the stepwise crosslinking of self-assembled lamellar block copolymers. The intrinsic porous structure of PCSs can maximize the utilization of well-developed surfaces/interfaces of the PCNs.

Significant Enhancement of Visible-Light-Driven Hydrogen Evolution by Structure Regulation of Carbon Nitrides

Photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen evolution by utilizing solar energy has a great significance for high-density solar energy storage and environmental sustainability. Here, a defect-rich amorphous carbon nitride (DACN) photocatalyst has been synthesized by simply direct calcination of the rationally size-reduced urea crystals. The introduction of nitrogen vacancies combined with disordered structure cause a broad visible-light-reponsive range, countless lateral edge/exposed surface bonding sites, and quenched radiative recombination, suggesting that this DACN enhances photocatalytic activity for hydrogen production. A record high hydrogen evolution rate of 37,680 μmol h^-1 g^-1 under visible-light irradiation and an extraordinary apparent quantum efficiency of 34.4% at 400 nm were achieved, higher than most of the existing graphitic carbon nitride-based photocatalysts.

Nanoscale Probing of Local Hydrogen Heterogeneity in Disordered Carbon Nitrides with Vibrational Electron Energy-Loss Spectroscopy

In graphitic carbon nitrides, (photo)catalytic functionality is underpinned by the effect that residual hydrogen content, manifesting in amine (N-H _x) defects, has on its optoelectronic properties. Therefore, a detailed understanding of the variation in the local structure of graphitic carbon nitrides is key for understanding structure-activity relationships. Here, we apply aloof-beam vibrational electron energy-loss spectroscopy in the scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) to locally detect variations in hydrogen content in two different layered carbon nitrides with nanometer resolution. Through low dose rate TEM, we obtain atomically resolved images from crystalline and disordered carbon nitrides. By employing an aloof-beam configuration in a monochromated STEM, radiation damage can be dramatically reduced, yielding vibrational spectra from carbon nitrides to be assessed on 10's of nanometer length scales. We find that in disordered graphitic carbon nitrides the relative amine content can vary locally up to 27%. Cyano (C≡N) defects originating from uncondensed precursor are also revealed by probing small volumes, which cannot be detected by infrared absorption or Raman scattering spectroscopies. The utility of this technique is realized for heterogeneous soft materials, such as disordered graphitic carbon nitrides, in which methods to probe catalytically active sites remain elusive.

A New Synthesis Approach for Carbon Nitrides: Poly(triazine imide) and Its Photocatalytic Properties

Poly(triazine imide) (PTI) is a material belonging to the group of carbon nitrides and has shown to have competitive properties compared to melon or g-C₃N₄, especially in photocatalysis. As most of the carbon nitrides, PTI is usually synthesized by thermal or hydrothermal approaches. We present and discuss an alternative synthesis for PTI which exhibits a pH-dependent solubility in aqueous solutions. This synthesis is based on the formation of radicals during electrolysis of an aqueous melamine solution, coupling of resulting melamine radicals and the final formation of PTI. We applied different characterization techniques to identify PTI as the product of this reaction and report the first liquid state NMR experiments on a triazine-based carbon nitride. We show that PTI has a relatively high specific surface area and a pH-dependent adsorption of charged molecules. This tunable adsorption has a significant influence on the photocatalytic properties of PTI, which we investigated in dye degradation experiments.

Exploring the formation and electronic structure properties of the g-C3N4 nanoribbon with density functional theory

The optical properties and condensation degree (structure) of polymeric g-C₃N₄ depend strongly on the process temperature. For polymeric g-C₃N₄, its structure and condensation degree depend on the structure of molecular strand(s). Here, the formation and electronic structure properties of the g-C₃N₄ nanoribbon are investigated by studying the polymerization and crystallinity of molecular strand(s) employing first-principle density functional theory. The calculations show that the width of the molecular strand has a significant effect on the electronic structure of polymerized and crystallized g-C₃N₄ nanoribbons, a conclusion which would be indirect evidence that the electronic structure depends on the structure of g-C₃N₄. The edge shape also has a distinct effect on the electronic structure of the crystallized g-C₃N₄ nanoribbon. Furthermore, the conductive band minimum and valence band maximum of the polymeric g-C₃N₄ nanoribbon show a strong localization, which is in good agreement with the quasi-monomer characters. In addition, molecular strands prefer to grow along the planar direction on graphene. These results provide new insight on the properties of the g-C₃N₄ nanoribbon and the relationship between the structure and properties of g-C₃N₄.

Versatile two-dimensional silicon diphosphide (SiP2) for photocatalytic water splitting

The development of two-dimensional (2D) photocatalysts with excellent visible light absorption and favorable band alignment is critical for highly-efficient water splitting. Here we systematically study the structural, electronic and optical properties of an experimentally unexplored 2D Silicon Diphosphide (SiP2) based on density functional theory (DFT). We found that the single-layer SiP2 is highly feasible to obtain experimentally by mechanical cleavage and it is dynamically stable by analyzing its vibrational normal mode. Two dimensional SiP2 possesses a direct band gap of 2.25 eV, which is much smaller than those of more widely studied photocatalysts including titania (3.2 eV) and graphitic carbon nitride (2.7 eV), thus displaying excellent ability for sunlight harvesting. Most interestingly, the positions of the conduction band minimum (CBM) and valence band maximum (VBM) in 2D SiP2 fit perfectly the water oxidation and reduction potentials, making it a potential new 2D material that is suitable as a nanoscale photocatalyst for photo-electrochemical water splitting.

Hydrothermal Synthesis of a New Kind of N-Doped Graphene Gel-like Hybrid As an Enhanced ORR Electrocatalyst

In this work, g-C₃N₄@GO gel-like hybrid is obtained by assembling intentionally exfoliated g-C₃N₄ sheets on graphene oxide (GO) sheets under a hydrothermal condition. A specific N-doping process is first designed by heating the g-C₃N₄@GO interlaced hybrid in vacuum to form nitrogen-doped graphene nanosheets (NGS) with high level of pyridinic-N (56.0%) and edge-rich defect structure. The prepared NGS exhibited a great electrocatalysis for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in terms of the activity, durability, methanol tolerance, and the reaction kinetics. And the excellent electrocatalytic performance stems from the effective N-doped sites that the nitrogen atom is successfully doped at the defective edges of graphene, and the annealing temperature can play significant role of the doping pattern and location of N. The research provides a new insight into the enhancement of electrocatalysis for ORR based on nonmetal carbons by using the novel N-doping method.

Mesoporous carbon nitrides: synthesis, functionalization, and applications

Mesoporous carbon nitrides (MCNs) with large surface areas and uniform pore diameters are unique semiconducting materials and exhibit highly versatile structural and excellent physicochemical properties, which promote their application in diverse fields such as metal free catalysis, photocatalytic water splitting, energy storage and conversion, gas adsorption, separation, and even sensing. These fascinating MCN materials can be obtained through the polymerization of different aromatic and/or aliphatic carbons and high nitrogen containing molecular precursors via hard and/or soft templating approaches. One of the unique characteristics of these materials is that they exhibit both semiconducting and basic properties, which make them excellent platforms for the photoelectrochemical conversion and sensing of molecules such as CO₂, and the selective sensing of toxic organic acids. The semiconducting features of these materials are finely controlled by varying the nitrogen content or local electronic structure of the MCNs. The incorporation of different functionalities including metal nanoparticles or organic molecules is further achieved in various ways to develop new electronic, semiconducting, catalytic, and energy harvesting materials. Dual functionalities including acidic and basic groups are also introduced in the wall structure of MCNs through simple UV-light irradiation, which offers enzyme-like properties in a single MCN system. In this review article, we summarize and highlight the existing literature covering every aspect of MCNs including their templating synthesis, modification and functionalization, and potential applications of these MCN materials with an overview of the key and relevant results. A special emphasis is given on the catalytic applications of MCNs including hydrogenation, oxidation, photocatalysis, and CO₂ activation.

Polymeric carbon nitride for solar hydrogen production

If solar hydrogen production from water is to be a realistic candidate for industrial hydrogen production, the development of photocatalysts, which avoid the use of expensive and/or toxic elements is highly desirable from a scalability, cost and environmental perspective. Metal-free polymeric carbon nitride is an attractive material that can absorb visible light and produce hydrogen from water. This article reviews recent developments in polymeric carbon nitride as used in photocatalysis and then develops the discussion focusing on the three primary processes of a photocatalytic reaction: light-harvesting, carrier generation/separation/transportation and surface reactions.

Photoassisted Construction of Holey Defective g-C3 N4 Photocatalysts for Efficient Visible-Light-Driven H2 O2 Production

Holey defective g-C₃ N₄ photocatalysts, which are easily prepared via a novel photoassisted heating process, are reported. The photoassisted treatment not only helps to create abundant holes, endowing g-C₃ N₄ with more exposed catalytic active sites and crossplane diffusion channels to shorten the diffusion distance of both reactants from the surface to bulk and charge carriers from the bulk to surface, but also introduces nitrogen vacancies in the tri-s-triazine repeating units of g-C₃ N₄ , inducing the narrowing of intrinsic bandgap and the formation of defect states within bandgap to extend the visible-light absorption range and suppress the radiative electron-hole recombination. As a result, the holey defective g-C₃ N₄ photocatalysts show much higher photocatalytic activity for H₂ O₂ production with optimized enhancement up to ten times higher than pristine bulk g-C₃ N₄ . The newly developed synthetic strategy adopted here enables the sufficient utilization of solar energy and shows rather promising for the modification of other materials for efficient energy-related applications.

Oriented Films of Conjugated 2D Covalent Organic Frameworks as Photocathodes for Water Splitting

Light-driven water electrolysis at a semiconductor surface is a promising way to generate hydrogen from sustainable energy sources, but its efficiency is limited by the performance of available photoabsorbers. Here we report the first time investigation of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) as a new class of photoelectrodes. The presented 2D-COF structure is assembled from aromatic amine-functionalized tetraphenylethylene and thiophene-based dialdehyde building blocks to form conjugated polyimine sheets, which π-stack in the third dimension to create photoactive porous frameworks. Highly oriented COF films absorb light in the visible range to generate photoexcited electrons that diffuse to the surface and are transferred to the electrolyte, resulting in proton reduction and hydrogen evolution. The observed photoelectrochemical activity of the 2D-COF films and their photocorrosion stability in water pave the way for a novel class of photoabsorber materials with versatile optical and electronic properties that are tunable through the selection of appropriate building blocks and their three-dimensional stacking.

A nanoclay-induced defective g-C3N4 photocatalyst for highly efficient catalytic reactions

A kaolinite nanoclay-induced defective graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) catalyst was successfully prepared for highly efficient degradation of organic pollutants.

Silver cyanamide nanoparticles decorated ultrathin graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets for enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalysis

Silver cyanamide nanoparticle decorated carbon nitride nanosheets are synthesized to build up a type-II semiconductor heterojunction for visible-light-driven photocatalysis.

Porous Organic Polymers: An Emerged Platform for Photocatalytic Water Splitting

Porous organic polymers (POPs), known for its high surface area and abundant porosity, can be easily designed and constructed at the molecular level. The POPs offer confined molecular spaces for the interplay of photons, excitons, electrons and holes, therefore featuring great potential in catalysis. In this review, a brief summary on the recent development of some current state-of-the-art POPs for photocatalytic water splitting and their design principles and synthetic strategies as well as relationship between structure and photocatalytic hydrogen or oxygen evolution performance are presented. Future prospects including research directions are also proposed, which may provide insights for developing POPs for photocatalytic water splitting with our expectations.

Confined Synthesis of Carbon Nitride in a Layered Host Matrix with Unprecedented Solid-State Quantum Yield and Stability

Fluorescent carbon nanomaterials have drawn tremendous attention for their intriguing optical performances, but their employment in solid-state luminescent devices is rather limited as a result of aggregation-induced photoluminescence quenching. Herein, ultrathin carbon nitride (CN) is synthesized within the 2D confined region of layered double hydroxide (LDH) via triggering the interlayer condensation reaction of citric acid and urea. The resulting CN/LDH phosphor emits strong cyan light under UV-light irradiation with an absolute solid-state quantum yield (SSQY) of 95.9 ± 2.2%, which is, to the best of our knowledge, the highest value of carbon-based fluorescent materials ever reported. Furthermore, it exhibits a strong luminescence stability toward temperature, environmental pH, and photocorrosion. Both experimental studies and theoretical calculations reveal that the host-guest interactions between the rigid LDH matrix and interlayer carbon nitride give the predominant contribution to the unprecedented SSQY and stability. In addition, prospective applications of the CN/LDH material are demonstrated in both white light-emitting diodes and upconversion fluorescence imaging of cancer cells.

Mechanism of photocatalytic water splitting with triazine-based carbon nitrides: insights from ab initio calculations for the triazine–water complex

Valuable theoretical insights into the mechanism of photocatalytic water-splitting using triazine as a model system for carbon-nitride materials.

Unique physicochemical properties of two-dimensional light absorbers facilitating photocatalysis

The emergence of two-dimensional (2D) materials with a large lateral size and extremely small thickness has significantly changed the development of many research areas by producing a variety of unusual physicochemical properties.

Molecular engineering of polymeric carbon nitride: advancing applications from photocatalysis to biosensing and more

Different designs and constructions of molecular structures of carbon nitride for emerging applications, such as biosensing, are discussed.

Cross-Linked Graphitic Carbon Nitride with Photonic Crystal Structure for Efficient Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalysis

Highly cross-linked graphitic carbon nitride has been prepared by a thermal copolymerization of dicyanodiamide with tetramethylammonium salts. The cross-linking can be evidenced by (i) increased C/N ratio without new carbon species, (ii) decreased specific surface area, and (iii) Tyndall effect after dissolution in concentrated sulfuric acid. The cross-linked graphitic carbon nitride with photonic crystal structure has highly efficient photocatalytic activity for water splitting under visible light due to the synergistic enhancement by the greatly suppressed photoluminescence, red-shifted absorption edges, strong inner reflections, and effective PCs stop band overlaps. It exhibits an enhanced photodegradation kinetic of methyl orange and a high visible-light-driven hydrogen-evolution rate of 166.9 μmol h^-1 (25 times higher than that of the pristine graphitic carbon nitride counterpart). This work presents a facile method for designing and developing high-performance graphitic carbon nitride photocatalysts, providing a broad range of application prospects in the fields of electronics and energy conversion.

Modulating Crystallinity of Graphitic Carbon Nitride for Photocatalytic Oxidation of Alcohols

Exploiting efficient photocatalysts with strengthened structure for solar-driven alcohol oxidation is of great significance. The photocatalytic performance of graphitic carbon nitrides can be considerably promoted by modulating its crystallinity. Results confirmed that a high crystallinity accelerates the separation and transfer of photogenerated charge carriers, thus providing more free charges for photoredox reactions. More importantly, the high crystallinity facilitated the adsorption of benzyl alcohol and desorption of benzaldehyde and simultaneously lowered the energy barrier for O₂ activation. As a result, the crystalline carbon nitride exhibited a roughly twelvefold promotion with respect to the normal carbon nitride. The remarkable enhancement of activity can be attributed to the synergistic effects of increased electron-hole separation and increased surface reaction kinetics. These findings will open up new opportunities to modulate the structure of polymers for a wide variety of organic reactions.