Cu nanocrystal enhancement of C₃N₄/Cu hetero-structures and new applications in photo-electronic catalysis: hydrazine oxidation and redox reactions of organic molecules

Abstract

A C3N4/Cu hetero-structure was prepared for new applications in photo-electronic redox reactions.

Metallic Copper‐Containing Composite Photocatalysts: Fundamental, Materials Design, and Photoredox Applications

“…In the process of wet chemical synthesis of metallic Cubased composites, the copper salts (CuCl 2 , [35] Cu(NO 3 ) 2 , [36] Cu(OAc) 2 , [37] and CuSO 4 , [38] etc.) are first dissolved in solution and then reduced by reducing agents, such as NaBH 4 , [35a,38a,39] hydrazine hydrate, [28,40] glucose, [27,41] ascorbic acid (AA), [42] and so on. During the preparation, the introduction of polymer inhibitors such as hexadecylamine (HDA), [43] polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) [38b,44] can increase the stability of Cu and control the growth of Cu nanoparticles, while the introduction of complexing agents such as sodium citrate [36c] can regulate the morphology of copper nanocrystals.…”

“…A small amount of ascorbic acid produced Cu 2 O, and increased the amount of ascorbic acid could obtain the Cu 2 O/ Cu composite, then the excessive amount of ascorbic acid would obtain the metal Cu (Figure 3b). Ji et al [28] successfully introduced Cu nanoparticles on the surface of g-C 3 N 4 with Cu(NO 3 ) 2 as the source and hydrazine hydrate as the reducing agent (Figure 3c).…”

Single Cu Atoms as Catalysts for Efficient Hydrazine Oxidation Reaction

“…[33,34] These characteristics render C 3 N 4 suitable for loading metals to obtain more effective catalysts. [35,36] However, the low conductivity of C 3 N 4 limits its utilization for a wide range of applications, and its conductivity has been observed to improve by doping P. [37,38] At the same time, the doped P atoms can also modulate the electronic properties of Cu in this catalyst to optimize the catalytic reaction kinetics and activity. [39,40] In this study, single Cu atoms anchored on the surface of the P-doped C 3 N 4 substrate (CuÀ SA/PCN) were prepared to function as catalysts.…”

“…It is covalently bonded between carbon and nitrogen via a π‐conjugated structure, owing to which it demonstrates various advantageous properties such as a universal catalytic performance, high thermal and chemical stabilities, and a large specific surface area . These characteristics render C 3 N 4 suitable for loading metals to obtain more effective catalysts . However, the low conductivity of C 3 N 4 limits its utilization for a wide range of applications, and its conductivity has been observed to improve by doping P .…”

Carbon‐Coated Cu nanoparticles as a Cocatalyst of g‐C3N4 for Enhanced Photocatalytic H2 Evolution Activity under Visible‐Light Irradiation

“…In terms of economic and practical production, research has been done on the use of transition metals (such as Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu) or corresponding oxides as cocatalysts . It has been proposed that the modification of g‐C 3 N 4 by Cu nanoparticles (Cu/g‐C 3 N 4 ) improves the photocatalytic efficiency of g‐C 3 N 4 . Zhang et al developed an in situ deposition method of Cu nanoparticles on the superficies of g‐C 3 N 4 to promote the photocatalytic decomposition.…”