title: Synthesis of potassium-modified graphitic carbon nitride with high photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution.
abstract: Potassium-modified graphitic carbon nitride (K-g-C3N4) nanosheets are synthesized by a facile KCl-template method that holds the advantage of easy removal of residual template. A combination of XRD, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and inductively coupled plasma analyses are utilized to characterize the obtained resultant K-g-C3N4 architectures, which are composed of nanosheets of variable thickness (<10 nm). Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution experiments under visible light irradiation showed that K-g-C3N4 nanosheets have high photocatalytic activities (up to about thirteen times higher than that of pure g-C3 N4 ) as well as good stability (no reduction in activity within 16 h); both features emanate from their unique structural characteristics. These results illustrate the viability of this methodology for the facile synthesis of efficient heterogeneous photocatalysts for potential commercial applications.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Automobile Materials, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130022 (P.R. China).
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jun-Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Xian-nian
authors.initials: XN
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D060326:Chemistry Techniques, Synthetic; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry*; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000737:chemistry*; D009570:Nitriles / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D055668:Photochemical Processes; D011189:Potassium Chloride / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D009570:Nitriles; C011206:cyanogen; D011189:Potassium Chloride; D006108:Graphite; D006859:Hydrogen
keywords: electron microscopy; hydrogen; nanostructures; photochemistry; template synthesis