Insight into the surface property modification-enhanced C₃N₄ performance of photocatalytic nitrogen fixation

Abstract

The surface properties of the catalyst have an important influence on the process of heterogeneous reactions.

Smart three-phase interface heterojunctions for effective photo(electro)catalytic N2 reduction to ammonia

“…Other authors introduced hydrophobicity in their composites by functionalisation to increase the N 2 fixation rates. For instance, Cai et al 68 modified a defective g-C 3 N 4 photocatalyst with dicarboxylic acids (succinic acid, adipic acid, and decanedioic acid) with different degree of hydrophobicity. Succinic acid showed the maximum contact angle and accordingly, its corresponding modified g-C 3 N 4 exhibited the highest NH 3 yield (751.8 μmol g −1 h −1 ), which was 3.97 times that of g-C 3 N 4 (189.2 μmol g −1 h −1 ).…”

Engineering photocatalytic ammonia synthesis

“…However, as a non-polar molecule, N 2 has a very weak interaction with water, resulting in poor solubility (0.69 mmol L À1 in water at 293.15 K and 101.325 kPa) and a slow diffusion rate. 59 In other words, the N 2 supply is insufficient, which seriously restricts the PAS rate. Considering the rapid diffusion of gaseous N 2 , establishing a rapid gas diffusion pathway is an effective strategy to promote the N 2 supply.…”

Dual Z‐scheme ternary heterojunction photocatalyst with enhanced visible‐light photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants

“…The key for photocatalysis is to explore efficient photocatalyst that may effectively facilitate the separation and suppress the recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs under visible light irradiation [5][6][7]. As a metal-free organic polymeric semiconductor, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ) has been widely used in organic pollutant degradation [8], hydrogen evolution [9], CO 2 reduction [10], and so on [11], due to its suitable band position, non-toxicity, easy synthesis, high stability, and low cost. However, the slow separation and the rapid recombination of photogenerated carriers, the poor visible light response, and the low specific surface area seriously limit the activity of g-C 3 N 4 .…”