J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2024, Vol. 172: 23-32.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2023.06.051

• Research Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Competitive assembling strategy to construct carbon nitride homojunctions for boosting photocatalytic performance

Hua-Wei Zhanga,b, Yuan-Yuan Lib, Bo Lib, Jing-Hui Shib, Tao Huangb, Gui-Fang Huangb,*, Anlian Panc, Wangyu Huc, Wei-Qing Huangb,*   

  1. aSchool of Physics & Electronic Engineering, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, Zhengzhou 450002, China;
    bKey Laboratory for Micro/Nano Optoelectronic Devices of Ministry of Education & Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Low-Dimensional Structural Physics and Devices, School of Physics and Electronics, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China;
    cCollege of Materials Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China
  • Received:2023-04-25 Revised:2023-06-16 Accepted:2023-06-27 Published:2024-02-10 Online:2023-08-11
  • Contact: *E-mail addresses: gfhuang@hnu.edu.cn (G.-F. Huang), wqhuang@hnu.edu.cn (W.- Q. Huang)

Abstract: Both morphology and composition have a great influence on the properties and functions of materials, however, how to rational modulate both of them to achieve their synergistic effects has been a long-standing expectation. Herein, we demonstrate a competitive assembling strategy for the construction of metal-free graphite carbon nitride (CN) homojunctions in which morphology and composition can be easily controlled simultaneously by only changing the ratio of assembly raw materials. These homojunctions are comprised of porous nanotubular S-doped CN (SCN) grafted with CN nanovesicles, which are derived from thermal polycondensation of melamine-thiocyanuric acid (M-T)/melamine-cyanuric acid (M-C) supramolecular hybrid blocks. This unique architecture and component engineering endows the novel SCN-CN homojunction with abundant active sites, enhanced visible trapping ability, and intimate interface contact. As a result, the synthesized SCN-CN homojunctions demonstrate high photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution and pollutant degradation. This developed strategy opens up intriguing opportunities for the rational construction of intricate metal-free heterostructures with controllable architecture and interfacial contact for applications in energy-related fields.

Key words: Competitive assembling strategy, Supramolecular hybrid blocks, Homojunctions, Graphite carbon nitride, Photocatalytic