An overview of the structural, textural and morphological modulations of g-C₃N₄ towards photocatalytic hydrogen production

Abstract

This study highlights the recent trends in the structural, textural and morphological variations of g-C3N4 for visible-light-induced hydrogen evolution.

Electrospinning construction of Bi2WO6/RGO composite nanofibers with significantly enhanced photocatalytic water splitting activity

“…Photocatalytic water splitting is a chemical reaction for producing hydrogen by using two major renewable energy resources, namely, water and solar energy [1,2] . Semiconductor photocatalyst has attracted much attention owing to its great potential in energy 30 production and environmental purification [3][4][5] . However, to get hydrogen from water under the visible light, the ideal band gap of the semiconductors should be around 2.0 eV.…”

ZnCr2O4@ZnO/g‐C3N4: A Triple‐Junction Nanostructured Material for Effective Hydrogen and Oxygen Evolution under Visible Light

“…In this regard, graphitic carbon nitride (g‐C 3 N 4 , CN) has been studied extensively as a visible‐light‐active classic semiconductor photocatalyst for the conversion of CO 2 into useful solar fuels, the generation of H 2 and O 2 by splitting water, and the remediation of hazardous wastes and contaminated groundwater . Its exceptional stability, nontoxicity, and suitable band‐gap energy are beneficial for these applications . However, unfortunately, the photocatalytic efficiency of g‐C 3 N 4 is still far from optimum because of low surface area, high rate of recombination of photoexcited electron–hole pairs, and limited absorption in the visible region.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5] Its exceptional stability,n ontoxicity,a nd suitable band-gap energy are beneficial for these applications. [6] However, unfortunately, the photocatalytic efficiency of g-C 3 N 4 is still far from optimum because of low surface area, high rate of recombination of photoexcitede lectron-hole pairs,a nd limited absorption in the visible region.T oo ptimize the synthesis of g-C 3 N 4 , many methods have been used, for example,s ynthesesf rom variousp recursors (dicyanamide,m elamine,u rea, thiourea), the introduction of heteroatoms,c oupling with other semiconductors,m orphology control, and nanostructure engineering. [6] Among these modifications,t he design of g-C 3 N 4 -based heterostructuredn anocomposites is considered to be ap romising method to improve the photocatalytic performance.…”

“…[6] However, unfortunately, the photocatalytic efficiency of g-C 3 N 4 is still far from optimum because of low surface area, high rate of recombination of photoexcitede lectron-hole pairs,a nd limited absorption in the visible region.T oo ptimize the synthesis of g-C 3 N 4 , many methods have been used, for example,s ynthesesf rom variousp recursors (dicyanamide,m elamine,u rea, thiourea), the introduction of heteroatoms,c oupling with other semiconductors,m orphology control, and nanostructure engineering. [6] Among these modifications,t he design of g-C 3 N 4 -based heterostructuredn anocomposites is considered to be ap romising method to improve the photocatalytic performance. Severalh eterostructured semiconductor photocatalysts were designed using two different transition-metal oxides,s uch as ZnO/TiO 2 ,N iO/TiO 2 ,a nd ZnO/In 2 O 3 ;t his extendedt heir optical absorption in the visible region, and they exhibited superiorp hotocatalytic activities owing to the enhanced separatione fficiencyo ft he photogenerated electron-hole pairs.…”

Heteroatom‐Doped Carbonaceous Photocatalysts for Solar Fuel Production and Environmental Remediation

“…The heteroatom doping approach of introducing impurities into a matrix of nanocarbon materials, through surface transfer doping and substitutional doping, presents an avenue to efficiently enhancep hotocatalytic properties of carbonaceousm aterials through the improvedo ptical and electrochemical properties, structurala nd textural characteristics,t he adsorptive and mass transfer behavior,a nd the properties of active sites. [1,4,[7][8][9][10][77][78][79][80][81][82][83][84] As ac onsequence, the doping of photocatalysts garnerscontinually growing interest. By searching "photocatalysis" and then refining by "doping" (SciFinder,o nA pril 20, 2017),2 0799 publications can be obtained.I ndicated in Figure2is the explosive growth of doping of photocatalysts in the last ten years.…”