Engineering of g-C3N4-based photocatalysts to enhance hydrogen evolution

Mengxi Tan; Chengye Yu; Junjie Li; Yang Li; Chengdong Tao; Chuanbao Liu; Huimin Meng; Yanjing Su; Lijie Qiao; Yang Bai

doi:10.1016/j.cis.2021.102488

Engineering of g-C₃N₄-based photocatalysts to enhance hydrogen evolution

Adv Colloid Interface Sci. 2021 Sep:295:102488. doi: 10.1016/j.cis.2021.102488. Epub 2021 Jul 17.

Authors

Mengxi Tan¹, Chengye Yu¹, Junjie Li¹, Yang Li¹, Chengdong Tao¹, Chuanbao Liu², Huimin Meng³, Yanjing Su¹, Lijie Qiao¹, Yang Bai⁴

Affiliations

¹ Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China; Institute for Advanced Material and Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China.
² School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China.
³ Institute for Advanced Material and Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China.
⁴ Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China; Institute for Advanced Material and Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China. Electronic address: baiy@mater.ustb.edu.cn.

PMID: 34332277
DOI: 10.1016/j.cis.2021.102488

Abstract

The technology of photocatalytic hydrogen production that converts abundant yet intermittent solar energy into an environmentally friendly alternative energy source is an attractive strategy to mitigate the energy crisis and environmental pollution. Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄), as a promising photocatalyst, has gradually received focus in the field of artificial photosynthesis due to its appealing optical property, high chemical stability and easy synthesis. However, the limited light absorption and massive recombination of photoinduced carriers have hindered the photocatalytic activity of bare g-C₃N₄. Therefore, from the perspective of theoretical calculations and experiments, many valid approaches have been applied to rationally design the photocatalyst and ameliorate the hydrogen production performance, such as element doping, defect engineering, morphology tuning, and semiconductor coupling. This review summarized the latest progress of g-C₃N₄-based photocatalysts from two perspectives, modification of pristine g-C₃N₄ and interfacial engineering design. It is expected to offer feasible suggestions for the fabrication of low-cost and high-efficiency photocatalysts and the photocatalytic mechanism analyses assisted by calculation in the near future. Finally, the prospects and challenges of this exciting research field are discussed.

Keywords: Defect regulation; Graphitic carbon nitride; Interfacial engineering; Photocatalyst design; Photocatalytic hydrogen production.

Publication types

Review