The g-C3 N4 /C2 N Nanocomposite: A g-C3 N4 -Based Water-Splitting Photocatalyst with Enhanced Energy Efficiency.
Water-splitting photocatalysts with good energy efficiency are highly desirable, among which metal-free graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3 N4 ) is considered to be very promising and has been intensively studied in recent years. However, its practical application is hindered by the relatively low efficiencies of visible-light absorption and electron-hole separation. Herein, based on first-principles calculations, it is predicted that, by forming nanocomposites with another carbon nitride (C2 N), the energy efficiency of g-C3 N4 can be significantly improved. On one hand, C2 N has a wide, strong optical absorption in the visible-light region, which acts as a photosensitizer and enhances the photoabsorption efficiency of the composite photocatalyst. On the other hand, C2 N forms a type II heterojunction with g-C3 N4 , which leads to efficient separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs through the chemical potential difference between the two components. These results provide a potential route to achieve highly efficient metal-free photocatalysts for water splitting.
Hefei National Laboratory of Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, P.R. China.
Huimin
H
Wang
Hefei National Laboratory of Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, P.R. China.|Synergetic Innovation Center of Quantum Information and, Quantum Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, P.R. China.
Xingxing
X
Li
Hefei National Laboratory of Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, P.R. China. jlyang@ustc.edu.cn.|Synergetic Innovation Center of Quantum Information and, Quantum Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, P.R. China. jlyang@ustc.edu.cn.
Jinlong
J
Yang
density functional calculations; graphitic carbon nitride; layered compounds; photochemistry; water splitting