title: Copolymerization with 2,4,6-triaminopyrimidine for the rolling-up the layer structure, tunable electronic properties, and photocatalysis of g-C3N4.
abstract: Copolymerization with 2,4,6-triaminopyrimidine (TAP) is developed for precise substitution of one nitrogen with carbon atom in the triazine ring of polymeric g-C3N4. Direct incorporation of C4N2 ring from TAP into the network retains the structural features of g-C3N4, but induces the rolling-up of g-C3N4 sheets into tubular configuration. The band gap energy is narrowed from 2.7 to 2.4 eV by a negative shift of valence band of the g-C3N4 photocatalyst, which enhances charge-carrier migration and separation, leading to higher photocatalytic activity for NO gas pollutant removal. It is attributed to the decrease of the π-deficiency and the generation of imbalanced electron density in π-electron conjugated units of g-C3N4 by TAP incorporation. This work provides a significant technique for precise control of heteroatom in the framework of g-C3N4 to finely adjust its intrinsic electronic properties and its photocatalytic properties.
authors.affiliation: Department of Science and Environmental Studies, The Hong Kong Institute of Education , Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Wingkei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: Zizhong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Shuping
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Xianwen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xuxu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
keywords: copolymerization; g-C3N4; nitrogen substitution; photocatalysis; tubular configuration