Structure Tuning of Polymeric Carbon Nitride for Solar Energy Conversion: From Nano to Molecular Scale

Abstract

The utilization of sunlight to drive energy conversion via photocatalysis is a promising approach to pursue a sustainable future. In the past decade, the research of photocatalysts has been shifted from inorganic to abundant organic polymeric catalysts. Polymeric carbon nitride (PCN) has emerged as a promising photocatalyst for solar energy conversion on account of its superior physicochemical properties. However, its practical applications are still hindered by several limitations, including high-charge recombination probability and weak visible-light absorption, etc. As a result of facile structure modifications at the nano-and molecular levels, the structure engineering of PCN has been proven as an efficient solution. This review highlights a panorama of the latest research advancements regarding the structure engineering of PCN at the nano-and molecular scales. A perspective about the challenges and future trends in the structure engineering and applications of PCN is provided at the end of the review.

Size‐Selective Photoelectrochemical Reactions in Microporous Environments: Clark Probe Investigation of Pt@g‐C3N4 Embedded into Intrinsically Microporous Polymer (PIM‐1)

“…Graphitic carbon nitride has been initially discovered being one of the oldest artificial polymers [10] and recently extensively studied as a semiconductor photocatalyst from 2009 onwards [11] . Modified g‐C 3 N 4 materials have been developed by doping, [12] by heterojunction formation, [13] by structural tuning, [14] and by single atom immobilisation [15] . Authoritative reviews on g‐C 3 N 4 in photocatalysis have appeared [16] .…”

Efficient Electronic Modulation of g-C 3 N 4 Photocatalyst by Implanting Atomically Dispersed Ag 1 -N 3 for Extremely High Hydrogen Evolution Rates

“…[11][12][13][14][15] However, bulk C 3 N 4 (BCN) still suffers from inferior photocatalytic efficiency owing to its low charge separation and transfer, insufficient light absorption and low specific surface area, limiting its further development. 16,17 Aiming at compensating the intrinsic drawback of g-C 3 N 4 to enhance its photocatalysis, many strategies like nanostructure design, electronic structure modulation, crystal-structure engineering, and heterostructure construction have been developed, 16,[18][19][20][21] among which electronic structure modulation can be considered as one of the most crucial and effective approaches to improve the photocatalytic efficiency of g-C 3 N 4 . 20,[22][23][24] Although many efforts to modulate electronic structure of g-C 3 N 4 to 5 incorporated g-C 3 N 4 tubes, showing a 30 times higher HER than BCN.…”

In‐depth Understanding of the Effects of Intramolecular Charge Transfer on Carbon Nitride Based Photocatalysts†

“…In the community of modification engineering, lots of reviews and surveys on the latest advances from various aspects are indispensable for the promotion of GCN, such as structure and property control via liquid precursor polymerization, [ 24‐25 ] GCN based heterogeneous catalysts, [ 26‐27 ] the advancements in different domains, [ 28‐30 ] polymer/GCN hybrid materials with advanced applications [ 31 ] and covalent/noncovalent modifications. [ 13 ] However, there is a lack of in‐depth understanding of the changes in ICT induced electronic structure in GCN materials at molecular level after the molecular coupling/modification.…”