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Sulfur and carbon co-doped g-C3N4 microtubes with enhanced photocatalytic H2 production activity

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Abstract

Metal-free graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) has captured significant attention as a low-cost and efficient hydrogen production photocatalyst through. Effectively regulating the microstructure and accelerating the separation of photogenerated carriers remain crucial strategies for promoting the photocatalytic performance of this material. Herein, a novel sulfur–carbon co-doped g-C3N4 (SCCN) hierarchical microtubules filled with abundant nanosheets inside by thermal polymerization is reported. Numerous nanosheets create abundant pores and cavities inside the SCCN microtubes, thereby increasing the specific surface area of g-C3N4 and providing sufficient reactant attachment sites. Besides, the hierarchical structure of SCCN microtubules strengthens the reflection and scattering of light, and the utilization of visible light is favorably affected. More importantly, co-doping S and C has greatly improved the photocatalytic performance of graphitic carbon nitride, optimized the band gap structure and enhanced the photogenerated carrier splitting. Consequently, the SCCN exhibits a remarkable photocatalytic H2 evolution rate of 4868 µmol/(g·h). This work demonstrates the potential of multi-nonmetal doped g-C3N4 as the ideal photocatalyst for H2 evolution.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 22078057), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Key Program of Joint Fund, Grant No. U22A20435), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. 2242023K5001), and the Scientific and Technological Innovation Project of Carbon Emission Peak and Carbon Neutrality of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. BK20220001).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 211189, China

    Yang Ge, Quanhao Shen, Qi Zhang, Naixu Li, Danchen Lu & Jiancheng Zhou

  2. Shangdong Yellow Triangle Biotechnology Industry Research Institute Co., Ltd., Dongying, 257091, China

    Zhaoming Zhang

  3. Xuzhou B&C Chemical Co., Ltd., Xuzhou, 221300, China

    Zhiwei Fu

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  1. Yang Ge
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  2. Quanhao Shen
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Correspondence to Naixu Li, Zhiwei Fu or Jiancheng Zhou.

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Ge, Y., Shen, Q., Zhang, Q. et al. Sulfur and carbon co-doped g-C3N4 microtubes with enhanced photocatalytic H2 production activity. Front. Energy 18, 110–121 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11708-023-0899-z

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