Bifunctional Hot Water Vapor Template-Mediated Synthesis of Nanostructured Polymeric Carbon Nitride for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution
Regulating bulk polymeric carbon nitride (PCN) into nanostructured PCN has long been proven effective in enhancing its photocatalytic activity. However, simplifying the synthesis of nanostructured PCN remains a considerable challenge and has drawn widespread attention. This work reported the one-ste...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-06-01
|
| Series: | Molecules |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/28/12/4862 |
| _version_ | 1797593232911106048 |
|---|---|
| author | Baihua Long Hongmei He Yang Yu Wenwen Cai Quan Gu Jing Yang Sugang Meng |
| author_facet | Baihua Long Hongmei He Yang Yu Wenwen Cai Quan Gu Jing Yang Sugang Meng |
| author_sort | Baihua Long |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Regulating bulk polymeric carbon nitride (PCN) into nanostructured PCN has long been proven effective in enhancing its photocatalytic activity. However, simplifying the synthesis of nanostructured PCN remains a considerable challenge and has drawn widespread attention. This work reported the one-step green and sustainable synthesis of nanostructured PCN in the direct thermal polymerization of the guanidine thiocyanate precursor via the judicious introduction of hot water vapor’s dual function as gas-bubble templates along with a green etching reagent. By optimizing the temperature of the water vapor and polymerization reaction time, the as-prepared nanostructured PCN exhibited a highly boosted visible-light-driven photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity. The highest H<sub>2</sub> evolution rate achieved was 4.81mmol∙g<sup>−1</sup>∙h<sup>−1</sup>, which is over four times larger than that of the bulk PCN (1.19 mmol∙g<sup>−1</sup>∙h<sup>−1</sup>) prepared only by thermal polymerization of the guanidine thiocyanate precursor without the assistance of bifunctional hot water vapor. The enhanced photocatalytic activity might be attributed to the enlarged BET specific surface area, increased active site quantity, and highly accelerated photo-excited charge-carrier transfer and separation. Moreover, the sustainability of this environmentally friendly hot water vapor dual-function mediated method was also shown to be versatile in preparing other nanostructured PCN photocatalysts derived from other precursors such as dicyandiamide and melamine. This work is expected to provide a novel pathway for exploring the rational design of nanostructured PCN for highly efficient solar energy conversion. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:06:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-36db2fb8963a41e49f4338a4ef032b1c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1420-3049 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:06:05Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Molecules |
| spelling | doaj.art-36db2fb8963a41e49f4338a4ef032b1c2023-11-18T11:51:24ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492023-06-012812486210.3390/molecules28124862Bifunctional Hot Water Vapor Template-Mediated Synthesis of Nanostructured Polymeric Carbon Nitride for Efficient Hydrogen EvolutionBaihua Long0Hongmei He1Yang Yu2Wenwen Cai3Quan Gu4Jing Yang5Sugang Meng6College of Material and Chemical Engineering, Pingxiang University, Pingxiang 337055, ChinaCollege of Material and Chemical Engineering, Pingxiang University, Pingxiang 337055, ChinaCollege of Material and Chemical Engineering, Pingxiang University, Pingxiang 337055, ChinaCollege of Material and Chemical Engineering, Pingxiang University, Pingxiang 337055, ChinaKey Laboratory of Applied Surface and Colloid Chemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710062, ChinaCollege of Health Science and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen Technology University, Shenzhen 518118, ChinaKey Laboratory of Green and Precise Synthetic Chemistry and Applications, Ministry of Education, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei 235000, ChinaRegulating bulk polymeric carbon nitride (PCN) into nanostructured PCN has long been proven effective in enhancing its photocatalytic activity. However, simplifying the synthesis of nanostructured PCN remains a considerable challenge and has drawn widespread attention. This work reported the one-step green and sustainable synthesis of nanostructured PCN in the direct thermal polymerization of the guanidine thiocyanate precursor via the judicious introduction of hot water vapor’s dual function as gas-bubble templates along with a green etching reagent. By optimizing the temperature of the water vapor and polymerization reaction time, the as-prepared nanostructured PCN exhibited a highly boosted visible-light-driven photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity. The highest H<sub>2</sub> evolution rate achieved was 4.81mmol∙g<sup>−1</sup>∙h<sup>−1</sup>, which is over four times larger than that of the bulk PCN (1.19 mmol∙g<sup>−1</sup>∙h<sup>−1</sup>) prepared only by thermal polymerization of the guanidine thiocyanate precursor without the assistance of bifunctional hot water vapor. The enhanced photocatalytic activity might be attributed to the enlarged BET specific surface area, increased active site quantity, and highly accelerated photo-excited charge-carrier transfer and separation. Moreover, the sustainability of this environmentally friendly hot water vapor dual-function mediated method was also shown to be versatile in preparing other nanostructured PCN photocatalysts derived from other precursors such as dicyandiamide and melamine. This work is expected to provide a novel pathway for exploring the rational design of nanostructured PCN for highly efficient solar energy conversion.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/28/12/4862carbon nitridenanostructuredwater vaporH<sub>2</sub> evolution |
| spellingShingle | Baihua Long Hongmei He Yang Yu Wenwen Cai Quan Gu Jing Yang Sugang Meng Bifunctional Hot Water Vapor Template-Mediated Synthesis of Nanostructured Polymeric Carbon Nitride for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution Molecules carbon nitride nanostructured water vapor H<sub>2</sub> evolution |
| title | Bifunctional Hot Water Vapor Template-Mediated Synthesis of Nanostructured Polymeric Carbon Nitride for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution |
| title_full | Bifunctional Hot Water Vapor Template-Mediated Synthesis of Nanostructured Polymeric Carbon Nitride for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution |
| title_fullStr | Bifunctional Hot Water Vapor Template-Mediated Synthesis of Nanostructured Polymeric Carbon Nitride for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bifunctional Hot Water Vapor Template-Mediated Synthesis of Nanostructured Polymeric Carbon Nitride for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution |
| title_short | Bifunctional Hot Water Vapor Template-Mediated Synthesis of Nanostructured Polymeric Carbon Nitride for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution |
| title_sort | bifunctional hot water vapor template mediated synthesis of nanostructured polymeric carbon nitride for efficient hydrogen evolution |
| topic | carbon nitride nanostructured water vapor H<sub>2</sub> evolution |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/28/12/4862 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT baihualong bifunctionalhotwatervaportemplatemediatedsynthesisofnanostructuredpolymericcarbonnitrideforefficienthydrogenevolution AT hongmeihe bifunctionalhotwatervaportemplatemediatedsynthesisofnanostructuredpolymericcarbonnitrideforefficienthydrogenevolution AT yangyu bifunctionalhotwatervaportemplatemediatedsynthesisofnanostructuredpolymericcarbonnitrideforefficienthydrogenevolution AT wenwencai bifunctionalhotwatervaportemplatemediatedsynthesisofnanostructuredpolymericcarbonnitrideforefficienthydrogenevolution AT quangu bifunctionalhotwatervaportemplatemediatedsynthesisofnanostructuredpolymericcarbonnitrideforefficienthydrogenevolution AT jingyang bifunctionalhotwatervaportemplatemediatedsynthesisofnanostructuredpolymericcarbonnitrideforefficienthydrogenevolution AT sugangmeng bifunctionalhotwatervaportemplatemediatedsynthesisofnanostructuredpolymericcarbonnitrideforefficienthydrogenevolution |