Enhanced photocatalytic overall water splitting from an assembly of donor-π-acceptor conjugated polymeric carbon nitride

Asif Hayat; Muhammad Sohail; Usama Anwar; T A Taha; Karam S El-Nasser; Asma M Alenad; Abdullah G Al-Sehemi; Noweir Ahmad Alghamdi; Omar A Al-Hartomy; Mohammed A Amin; A Alhadhrami; Arkom Palamanit; Sunil Kumar Baburao Mane; W I Nawawi; Zeeshan Ajmal

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2022.05.139

Enhanced photocatalytic overall water splitting from an assembly of donor-π-acceptor conjugated polymeric carbon nitride

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2022 Oct 15:624:411-422. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2022.05.139. Epub 2022 May 25.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Yangtze Delta Region Institute (Huzhou), University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Huzhou 313001, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Photocatalysis on Energy and Environment, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
² Yangtze Delta Region Institute (Huzhou), University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Huzhou 313001, PR China.
³ Soochow Institute for Energy and Materials Innovations, College of Energy, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China.
⁴ Physics Department, College of Science, Jouf University, P.O. Box 2014, Sakaka, Saudi Arabia; Physics and Engineering Mathematics Department, Faculty of Electronic Engineering, Menoufia University, Menouf 32952, Egypt.
⁵ Chemistry Department, College of Science and Arts, Jouf University, P.O. Box 756, Al-Gurayyat, Saudi Arabia; Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Assiut 71524, Egypt.
⁶ Chemistry Department, College of Science, Jouf University, P.O. Box: 2014, Sakaka, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Research Center for Advanced Materials Science (RCAMS), King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, Abha 61413, Saudi Arabia; Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, Abha 61413, Saudi Arabia.
⁸ Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Albaha University, Alaqiq 65779, Saudi Arabia.
⁹ Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁰ Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia.
¹¹ Energy Technology Program, Department of Specialized Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Prince of Songkla University, 15 Karnjanavanich Rd., Hat Yai, Songkhla 90110, Thailand.
¹² Department of Chemistry, Khaja Bandanawaz University, Kalaburagi 585104, Karnataka, India. Electronic address: sunilkumar.bmane@gmail.com.
¹³ Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Cawangan Perlis, 02600 Arau Perlis, Malaysia. Electronic address: wi_nawawi@uitm.edu.my.
¹⁴ School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, 710072 Xian, PR China. Electronic address: Zeeshan@nwpu.edu.cn.

PMID: 35660909
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2022.05.139

Abstract

Well-organized water splitting semiconducting photocatalyst is an important concept, but stimulating aimed at decisive energy and environmental emergencies. In this context, visible light-based photocatalytic water splitting with low-dimensional semiconducting materials is proposed to produce sustainable energy. Here we optimized the sequential of organic electron-rich heterocyclic monomer namely benzothiadiazole (BTD) quenched within polymeric carbon nitride (PCN) semiconductor via copolymerization, thereby assembling a sanctum of donor-π-acceptor (D-π-A) photocatalysts. The selection of BTD is based on the benzene ring, which consequently anticipating a π cross-linker unit for hydrogen and oxygen evolution. A hydrogen evolution rates (HER) of 88.2 μmol/h for pristine PCN and 744.2 μmol/h for PCN-BTD₀₀₈ (eight times higher than pure PCN) are observed. Additionally, a remarkable apparent quantum yield (AQY) of about 58.6% at 420 nm has been observed for PCN-BTD₀₀₈. Likewise, the oxygen evolution rate (OER) data reflect the generation of 0.2 μmol/h¹ (visible) and 1.6 μmol/h¹ (non-visible) for pure PCN. Though, OER of PCN-BTD₀₀₈ is found to be 2.2 μmol/h¹ (visible) and 14.8 μmol/h¹ (non-visible), which are economically better than pure PCN. As such, the results show an important step toward modifying the design and explain a vital part of the D-π-A scheme at a balanced theme for fruitful photocatalysts intended for future demand.

Keywords: Benzothiadiazole (BTD); Co-polymerization; Donor-π-Acceptor (D-π-A); Overall Water Splitting; Polymeric Carbon Nitride (PCN).