From Millimeter to Subnanometer: Vapor-Solid Deposition of Carbon Nitride Hierarchical Nanostructures Directed by Supramolecular Assembly.
Shape and nanostructure control has great potential to enable graphitic carbon nitride (C3N4) structures with new properties and functionalities. In this work, a new type of hierarchically structured nanoporous C3N4is introduced. The C3N4exhibits unique, edelweiss-like morphology, with components ranging from millimeter-sized bunches to subnanometer-thick layers. A one-step vapor-solid deposition approach using supramolecular aggregates as the precursor is carried out to accomplish the growth. Supramolecular pre-association plays a crucial role in achieving this nanostructure by directing the vaporization and deposition processes. Furthermore, very small C3N4quantum dots can be readily acquired by bath sonication of the thin layers in water. The supramolecular preorganization growth strategy developed herein may provide a general methodology in the design of advanced photoelectric materials with broad applications in energy conversion and storage.
School of Chemistry, Physics and Mechanical Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, 4000, Australia.|Department of Colloid Chemistry, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Golm, 14424, Potsdam, Germany.
Jingsan
0000-0003-1172-3864
J
Xu
Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3H6, Canada.
Hong
H
Wang
State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, 201620, China.
Chao
C
Zhang
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, China.
Xiaofei
X
Yang
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, China.
Shaowen
S
Cao
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, China.
Jiaguo
J
Yu
Department of Colloid Chemistry, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Golm, 14424, Potsdam, Germany.
Menny
M
Shalom
graphitic carbon nitrides; hierarchical nanostructures; supramolecular assembly; vapor-solid growth