Synthesizing the High Surface Area g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> for Greatly Enhanced Hydrogen Production

Adjusting the structure of g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> to significantly enhance its photocatalytic activity has attracted considerable attention. Herein, a novel, sponge-like g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> with a porous structure is prepared from the an...

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Main Authors: Chengfei Wang, Tongxin Han, Chang Xin, Hui Miao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-07-01
Series:Catalysts
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/11/7/832
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author Chengfei Wang
Tongxin Han
Chang Xin
Hui Miao
author_facet Chengfei Wang
Tongxin Han
Chang Xin
Hui Miao
author_sort Chengfei Wang
collection DOAJ
description Adjusting the structure of g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> to significantly enhance its photocatalytic activity has attracted considerable attention. Herein, a novel, sponge-like g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> with a porous structure is prepared from the annealing of protonated melamine under N<sub>2</sub>/H<sub>2</sub> atmosphere (PH-CN). Compared to bulk g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> via calcination of melamine under ambient atmosphere (B-CN), PH-CN displays thinner nanosheets and a higher surface area (150.1 m<sup>2</sup>/g), which is a benefit for shortening the diffusion distance of photoinduced carriers, providing more active sites, and finally favoring the enhancement of the photocatalytic activity. Moreover, it can be clearly observed from the UV-vis spectrum that PH-CN displays better performance for harvesting light compared to B-CN. Additionally, the PH-CN is prepared with a larger band gap of 2.88 eV with the Fermi level and conduction band potential increased and valence band potential decreased, which could promote the water redox reaction. The application experiment results show that the hydrogen evolution rate on PH-CN was nearly 10 times higher than that of B-CN, which was roughly 4104 μmol h<sup>−1</sup> g<sup>−1</sup>. The method shown in this work provides an effective approach to adjust the structure of g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> with considerable photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity.
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spelling doaj.art-32186ff4885542199dab0f7d2404bd552023-11-22T03:27:12ZengMDPI AGCatalysts2073-43442021-07-0111783210.3390/catal11070832Synthesizing the High Surface Area g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> for Greatly Enhanced Hydrogen ProductionChengfei Wang0Tongxin Han1Chang Xin2Hui Miao3College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, ChinaSchool of Physics, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, ChinaSchool of Physics, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, ChinaSchool of Physics, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, ChinaAdjusting the structure of g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> to significantly enhance its photocatalytic activity has attracted considerable attention. Herein, a novel, sponge-like g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> with a porous structure is prepared from the annealing of protonated melamine under N<sub>2</sub>/H<sub>2</sub> atmosphere (PH-CN). Compared to bulk g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> via calcination of melamine under ambient atmosphere (B-CN), PH-CN displays thinner nanosheets and a higher surface area (150.1 m<sup>2</sup>/g), which is a benefit for shortening the diffusion distance of photoinduced carriers, providing more active sites, and finally favoring the enhancement of the photocatalytic activity. Moreover, it can be clearly observed from the UV-vis spectrum that PH-CN displays better performance for harvesting light compared to B-CN. Additionally, the PH-CN is prepared with a larger band gap of 2.88 eV with the Fermi level and conduction band potential increased and valence band potential decreased, which could promote the water redox reaction. The application experiment results show that the hydrogen evolution rate on PH-CN was nearly 10 times higher than that of B-CN, which was roughly 4104 μmol h<sup>−1</sup> g<sup>−1</sup>. The method shown in this work provides an effective approach to adjust the structure of g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> with considerable photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/11/7/832g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>photocatalytic hydrogen evolutionprotonationN<sub>2</sub>/H<sub>2</sub> atmosphere
spellingShingle Chengfei Wang
Tongxin Han
Chang Xin
Hui Miao
Synthesizing the High Surface Area g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> for Greatly Enhanced Hydrogen Production
Catalysts
g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>
photocatalytic hydrogen evolution
protonation
N<sub>2</sub>/H<sub>2</sub> atmosphere
title Synthesizing the High Surface Area g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> for Greatly Enhanced Hydrogen Production
title_full Synthesizing the High Surface Area g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> for Greatly Enhanced Hydrogen Production
title_fullStr Synthesizing the High Surface Area g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> for Greatly Enhanced Hydrogen Production
title_full_unstemmed Synthesizing the High Surface Area g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> for Greatly Enhanced Hydrogen Production
title_short Synthesizing the High Surface Area g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> for Greatly Enhanced Hydrogen Production
title_sort synthesizing the high surface area g c sub 3 sub n sub 4 sub for greatly enhanced hydrogen production
topic g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>
photocatalytic hydrogen evolution
protonation
N<sub>2</sub>/H<sub>2</sub> atmosphere
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/11/7/832
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AT tongxinhan synthesizingthehighsurfaceareagcsub3subnsub4subforgreatlyenhancedhydrogenproduction
AT changxin synthesizingthehighsurfaceareagcsub3subnsub4subforgreatlyenhancedhydrogenproduction
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