title: Sol processing of conjugated carbon nitride powders for thin-film fabrication.
abstract: The chemical protonation of graphitic carbon nitride (CN) solids with strong oxidizing acids, for example HNO3, is demonstrated as an efficient pathway for the sol processing of a stable CN colloidal suspension, which can be translated into thin films by dip/disperse-coating techniques. The unique features of CN colloids, such as the polymeric matrix and the reversible hydrogen bonding, result in the thin-film electrodes derived from the sol solution exhibiting a high mechanical stability with improved conductivity for charge transport, and thus show a remarkably enhanced photo-electrochemical performance. The polymer system can in principle be broadly tuned by hybridization with desired functionalities, thus paving the way for the application of CN for specific tasks, as exemplified here by coupling with carbon nanotubes.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Photocatalysis on Energy and Environment, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350002 (China) http://wanglab.fzu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jinshui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Photocatalysis on Energy and Environment, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350002 (China) http://wanglab.fzu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Mingwen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Photocatalysis on Energy and Environment, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350002 (China) http://wanglab.fzu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Lihua
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Photocatalysis on Energy and Environment, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350002 (China) http://wanglab.fzu.edu.cn. xcwang@fzu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xinchen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
keywords: carbon nitride; photo-electrochemistry; polymers; sol-gel processes; thin films