Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3 N4 ) has been widely used in fields related to energy and materials science. However, nanostructured g-C3 N4 photocatalysts synthesized by traditional thermal polycondensation methods have the disadvantage of small specific surface areas and wide band gaps; these limit the catalytic activity and application range of g-C3 N4 . Based on the unique nanostructure of g-C3 N4 , it is a feasible method to modify g-C3 N4 with metals to design novel metal-semiconductor composites. Metals alter the photochemical properties of g-C3 N4 , in particular, narrow the band gap and expand photoabsorption into the visible range, which improves the photocatalytic performance. This review covers recent progress in metal/g-C3 N4 nanocomposites for photocatalysts, organic systems, biosensors, and so on. The aim is to summarize the synthetic methods, nanostructures, and applications of metal/g-C3 N4 nanocomposite materials, as well as discuss future research directions in these areas.
Keywords: carbon; doping; materials science; photochemistry; semiconductors.
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