Polymeric
carbon nitride (CN) is one of the most promising metal-free photocatalysts
to alleviate the energy crisis and environmental pollution. Loading
cocatalysts is regarded as an effective way to improve the photocatalytic
efficiency of CNs. However, commonly used noble metal cocatalysts
limit their applications due to their rarity and high cost. Herein,
we present the effective synthesis of single-atom copper-modified
CN via supramolecular preorganization with subsequent
condensation, which provides effective charge transfer pathways by
an “infused” delocalized state with variable-valence
catalysis at the same time. The C–Cu–N2 single-atom
catalytic site can activate CO2 molecules and reduces the
energy barrier toward photocatalytic CO2 reduction. Excellent
performance for photocatalytic CO2 reduction was found.
This work thereby provides a general protocol of designing a noble-metal-free
photocatalyst with infused metal centers toward a wide range of applications.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.